The San Miguel Community Services District is the sole agency that opted out of the joint powers authority dedicated to making the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin sustainable.
At its meeting on March 13, the San Miguel CSD board voted 2-2 to join the Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority, after hearing five public commenters speak against it. Because it was a tie, the motion failed.
Board President Ashley Sangster said he was tired of hearing about the joint powers authority (JPA) and that the board controls the district’s destiny, not an authority.
“I don’t want to hear about it again, personally,” he said. “It’s a dead issue at this point.”
San Miguel was the last of five agencies to consider joining the JPA, which now includes the city of Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, and the Shandon-San Juan and Estrella-El Pomar-Creston water districts.
Now, the JPA will continue with the four agencies, and rates will be determined based on users within them. Fees will go toward the authority’s administration, water projects outlined in the water basin’s sustainable management plan, and maintenance of water systems to address an “overdraft” of ground basin water, which averages about 13,700 acre-feet per year, according to the sustainable management plan approved by the state in 2023.
As the odd man out, the San Miguel CSD will remain in charge of planning and funding its own water projects and studies separate from the JPA. The CSD is still required to abide by the 2023 management plan under the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Currently, each of the five districts pays a portion for the groundwater sustainability report. San Miguel General Manager Kelly Dodds told the board that its portion is $18,000 annually. Dodds said if the CSD joined the JPA it would also pay an estimated $8,000 in fees per year but would at least have a seat at the table when it comes to decisions about the water basin.
Dodds said that the purpose of the JPA is not to focus on San Miguel as a separate entity, but for the agencies to work together to find a “mutual balance,” since everyone’s pulling water out of the same basin.
“We all have to work together anyway,” Dodds said.
President Sangster said he voted against joining the authority because there were too many unknowns, like how much fees would cost ratepayers and money the JPA would spend on hiring and administrative tasks.
“I shudder to think giving this newly formed bureaucratic entity a blank check. It, to me, just is a lot of unknown, and I’m really fearful for what it would mean for our ratepayers,” he said.
Dodds clarified that the JPA wouldn’t be handed a “blank check” and that all expenditures would need to be approved by the board.
Board member Owen Davis agreed with Sangster and initially called the March 13 special meeting “a waste of time and money.”
Some residents took the meeting as an opportunity to critique the JPA and the board.
About five nearby residents spoke against the JPA during public comment, and one said she felt that the rates and JPA weren’t fair for de minimus users, who have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their own wells.
Another disgruntled resident attempted to air his grievances outside of public comment.
Amid rising voices, President Sangster hit the gavel and said to stop as the resident said, “I’m going to do it anyway!”
“Let’s rein it in,” Sangster said. “A little decorum from the audience would be great, it’s been tiring to listen to it all and dealing with it all.” Δ
Editor’s note: This article was updated to include an image and links.
This article appears in Spring Arts Annual 2025.