Carpinteria GSA resets groundwater-metering rollout after AMI setbacks
Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency, California · Meeting date: October 14, 2026 · Published: October 15, 2026
The Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency has approved revisions to its well registration and metering policy, moving the start of meter-data-based charges to fiscal year 2029. The change responds to slow installation and configuration of automated metering infrastructure across a varied stock of private well meters.
Key points
- Metered pumping data collected from January 1 to December 31, 2027 will be used to set fiscal year 2029 fees; fiscal year 2028 charges will continue to use estimated pumping.
- Well owners with meters that are not yet connected to the AMI system will be required to take monthly manual reads and submit them quarterly until configurations are verified.
- Only 24 AMI endpoints had been installed across 105 registered active wells, and 12 were working at the time of the meeting.
- Meters bought after October 14 must use encoder output rather than pulse output, with the agency narrowing its compatible-meter list.
- The board also raised the proposed fee for tampering with pulse-output settings to $300, matching the endpoint-tampering charge.
Full report
Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency has delayed the full use of automated meter data for groundwater charges after encountering compatibility and configuration issues across private wells, approving a revised registration and metering policy that keeps estimated-pumping billing in place for another fiscal year.
Under Resolution No. 046, adopted by a 4-1 vote with one director absent, the agency will use estimated pumping based on the latest aerial imagery to calculate fiscal year 2028 fees. Letters setting out those estimates are due to be sent to pumpers in November. Meter data collected between January 1 and December 31, 2027 will then be used for fiscal year 2029 fees.
The policy had originally been adopted in August 2025 and revised in March 2026. The agency had previously set March 31 as the registration deadline and deferred penalties until after August 31. Staff said the latest adjustment effectively moves the planned September 1 use of metered data back to January 1.
The agency has received paperwork for 207 wells, of which 128 submissions were complete. Staff identified 105 active wells requiring flow meters, but had installed only 24 AMI endpoints. Just 12 were working, all on encoder-type meters.
The GSA is using the water district's existing AMI platform to provide real-time groundwater monitoring and reporting. However, staff said each meter has its own wiring and setup configuration, while incoming data have used differing units and resolutions. Pulse meters in particular have required troubleshooting, whereas encoder meters have proved easier to connect.
For wells with a meter but without a functioning AMI connection, owners must take monthly manual readings and submit them quarterly. Once the agency verifies a meter's AMI configuration and data accuracy, it will notify the owner that manual reporting is no longer required and provide access to a water-use portal.
The revised policy specifies acceptable flow-meter units as gallons, cubic feet or acre-feet, with acre-feet preferred. It also requires meter reads to use the same unit as the endpoint pulse configuration, and requires pulse resolution to be a factor of 10. New meters purchased after October 14 must be encoder-output models; the agency has removed pulse meters from its suggested-meter list.
Board members acknowledged that some owners may have bought meters from the previous approved list that have proved difficult to integrate. Staff said it would continue working with technical support to determine whether such meters can be reprogrammed, while accepting manual reads in the interim. Directors said the agency should consider the balance between continued staff troubleshooting, manual reporting burdens and potential meter replacement if compatibility cannot be resolved.
The policy also clarifies that unmetered pumping after January 1 will be out of compliance. Such wells will be charged for fiscal year 2029 using estimated pumping and the highest crop factor. The board noted that the resulting data should eventually show whether the existing compliance structure gives sufficient incentive for well owners to install meters.
Other changes remove the requirement for owners of inactive wells to submit electricity bills, which staff said were often unable to distinguish well energy use from other loads. Owners will instead be required to provide an affidavit that a well is not in use and submit photographs. Lost wells will not face fees or ongoing annual reporting requirements.
The agency also amended its tampering provisions to explicitly cover pulse-output settings and increased the fee from $180 to $300.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: Board Meeting, Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency