A groundwater management board charged with managing a large portion of Butte County’s water supply met a tide of resistance July 26 to a new fee that will be levied on Chico property owners.
The fee was approved by the Vina Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Board in a 5-0 vote and set at $1.54 per acre for the 2023-24 property tax year. It will thus be almost unnoticeable for small-parcel owners, but ranchers who spoke at the public hearing, held in the Chico City Council chamber, objected that it was inherently unfair to large landowners who aren’t extracting water.
Ranch owner Billie Roney said she and her husband were “shocked” to learn the new fee was in the pipeline. “We’re not irrigating,” she told the Vina GSA board. “The fee structure is not fair. We just keep getting pummeled.”