Brite Lake is lower than forecast or desired, General Manager Tom Neisler told members of the Board of Directors of Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District at their Nov. 20 meeting.

The lake, also known as J.C. Jacobsen Reservoir, is located just north of the water district's office and was built in the early 1970s to hold water that the district imports from the State Water Project.

Although the current level is lower than projected, Neisler said there is adequate stored water for fire flow and pressure regulation.

"It just looks sad from my office window," he said.

The district stopped importing water for the season on Oct. 18. But irrigation demand continued, with irrigation usage in September and October of this year at 900 acre-feet more than the same period last year, which Neisler said was a more normal irrigation year.

"We have coordinated closely with our major irrigator and attempted to plan our operations and shutdown in accordance with their requests," he said. "We experienced more than 200 acre-feet of additional usage after we had anticipated their operations would be completed for the year."

The district won't begin importation until sometime after the first of the year, and the timing will depend on how much water the Department of Water Resources allocates SWP contractors.

Neisler also addressed two other topics -- natural gas purchases and the district's pump replacement project.

The district spends more than $2 million per year to fire huge pumps that carry water from near the base of the Grapevine toward Stallion Springs and then on to Brite Lake. When the district board approved its budget in August, natural gas costs were expected to increase by $300,000 (16%).

In his recent report to the board, he said he had held off on ordering natural gas for 2025 until after the presidential election.

"On Nov. 6, I ordered natural gas to operate two engine pumping systems from April to September 2025 at $3.43/MMBtu," he said. (MMBtu is an acronym for Metric Million British Thermal Units. It's a unit of measurement used to quantify the energy value or heat content of a fuel or the amount of natural gas being bought or sold.)

"I was very pleased with this price and the outlook for (natural gas) futures. With that being said, the new administration may lift NG export restrictions that the previous administration put in place. The logical consequence of this action would be a significant surge in NG exports. It has already been reported that Europe has requested U.S. NG supplies to replace Russian supplies."

He added that he is remaining cautious about securing longer-term commitments.

Neisler and Operations Manager Jon Curry reported on the engine replacement project.

Curry said the installation phase kicked off on Nov. 4. The district's current year budget includes more than $7 million to replace engines at two of five pump plants.

Board compensation

In comments at the end of the meeting, board President Robert Schultz brought up director compensation.

The district was formed in 1965, replacing the Tehachapi Watershed Planning Project and the Tehachapi Cummings Valley Water Conservation District.

Since its inception, directors have been paid $100 per meeting, Schultz said.

Over nearly 60 years, inflation has brought the value of $1 then to $9 or $10 now, he said.

Although directors are public servants, he said the board should consider adjusting the compensation. Typically, board members attend one meeting per month, but sometimes there are special meetings or committee meetings.

"Through the years, this job has changed considerably," he said.

"We are blessed to have the people that we have on this board," Schultz added, noting that he thinks it's important for the district to consider the time board members spend to prepare for meetings.

"I used to put in only four or five hours," he said, adding that with lawsuits and other matters the board must consider, he now spends 20 to 40 hours a month reviewing agenda material to prepare for meetings.

He said he was concerned that the low compensation might make people who would be good board members less interested.

Director Jonathan Hall concurred.

"We're not even a small district anymore," he said. "We're a medium-sized district. I don't think $100 is appropriate, either." Hall has served on the board since 2006 and noted that no one ran against him in the latest election.

Claudia Elliott is a freelance journalist. She can be reached by email: [email protected].