Heated water district race reveals fears that wealthy outsiders are calling the shots, selling water

October 28, 2024
Jesse Vad, SJV Water
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
A new ponding basin in Laguna Irrigation District, which covers 53,000 acres across Kings and Fresno counties. SOURCE: Laguna ID
Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Jesse Vad, SJV Water

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A contentious race for a seat on the Laguna Irrigation District board of directors in Kings County is revealing deep-seated fears that wealthy outside interests are driving district policies tipping the scales against smaller, local farmers.

At the heart of those fears is a name that’s well-known in water circles, John Vidovich.

Vidovich controls Sandridge Partners LLC, which owns tens of thousands of acres across Kings County in several water districts.

He told SJV Water he didn’t even know there was an ongoing board election at Laguna and had no further comment. But his relationship with the district is being called out as one of the main reasons Wes Harmon, an area well driller, decided to challenge Frank Zonneveld, Laguna’s board president.

Harmon and his supporters accuse Laguna’s board of operating behind closed doors, not investing enough in recharge and catering to large landowners, such as Vidovich, who some accuse of selling water outside the district. 

Zonneveld refutes those claims. Zonneveld said the hard feelings come down to a dispute over how recharged water is divvied up, with 30% going to the district.

Even so, Vidovich’s name carries a lot of baggage when it comes to water in Kings County. 

Vidovich, a prominent Silicon Valley developer, has previously told SJV Water that he moves groundwater from poorer lands to better farm ground, all within Kings County.

In 2009, he did sell off rights to 14,000 acre feet of State Water Project water that had been attached to land in the Dudley Ridge Water District for $73 million. That sale still resonates like a gut punch to local farmers. He has since been engaged in numerous legal battles over groundwater movement, some of which caused so much concern that the Kings County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance in 2022 banning the sale of native groundwater out of the county without a permit. 

That hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from suggesting Laguna’s water is, in fact, being sold out of the district at the behest of large landowners.

Things have become so heated, Harmon said he’s been warned by other Laguna board members that continuing his campaign would be “bad for me.”

“They’re putting pressure on everyone around me,” said Harmon. “I have to keep going, I’m not scared of nothing.”  

Harmon has gone door to door in the district, which covers 53,000 acres spanning Kings and Fresno counties northwest of Hanford, to spread awareness of his campaign. He said if he’s elected he hopes to increase transparency about district operations for all landowners. 

Laguna Irrigation District

One of Harmon’s supporters, grower Reid Potter, agreed more transparency is needed. He also wants to see more groundwater recharge opportunities, more equitable water deliveries during wet years and policies to encourage farmers to put more water in the ground during those wet years.

“We’re going to lose if we don’t make a change,” Potter said. “We have nothing to lose because they’re stealing it from us anyway.”

Those sorts of accusations are just false, said district staff. 

Laguna has 320 acres of recharge ponds, 200 of which were built since 2016, according to a recent district newsletter. Last year, the district recharged 70,000 acre feet thanks to the historic wet conditions. In 2024, the district recharged 24,000 acre feet. The newsletter also refutes claims that water is sent out of the district. 

Zonneveld said Harmon lives down the street from him and that he thinks of him as a good person. Harmon has built a strong reputation for ensuring that poorer households get new wells drilled when theirs go dry, sometimes working for free, said Zonneveld. 

Zonneveld doesn’t hold the campaign against Harmon, which he thinks is being funded by others who he wouldn’t name. 

“There’s some other people controlling the puppet strings,” said Zonneveld. 

The district put out a newsletter on October 16 to address many of the allegations coming from Harmon’s campaign. But some people still won’t buy it, Zonneveld said. 

“They don’t want to listen to facts because that’s too boring,” said Zonneveld. “They’d rather listen to the trash talk because that’s gossipy and juicy and interesting.”

But concerns aren’t just coming from this campaign, having bubbled beneath the surface for some time. 

“They are very secretive,” said a former board member who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. “I fought with them for several years when I was on the board there.” 

Zonneveld said the real issue is that some of the disgruntled farmers leading the charge against the district want to increase their share of recharged groundwater from 70% to 90%.

“It’s just a little bit more greed and a little bit more in their pocket,” said Zonneveld. 

The election will be decided on Nov. 5, but won’t appear on most voters’ ballots as only Laguna landowners can vote for board members.

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SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Email us at sjvwater@sjvwater.org

Jesse Vad, SJV Water

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