Longtime Tulare County water manager takes post at Friant Water Authority
Longtime Tulare County water manager Eric Limas is leaving Lower Tule River and Pixley irrigation districts to join the staff at Friant Water Authority.
Limas confirmed via email that he will begin as Friant’s chief operating officer in late April.
The role was previously held by Johnny Amaral, who took the reins as Friant’s chief executive officer in January following the departure of Jason Phillips.
In an email to select water managers Thursday, Amaral referred to Limas’ almost 30 years of experience working within the Friant division.
“Eric has a reputation as a collaborator, a problem solver, and as a very transparent and honest operator. And this is a reputation that he has earned during his years of service,” Amaral wrote.
In a later interview with SJV Water, Amaral described Limas as a “doer.”
“He’s a guy that just gets things done and he will be a welcomed addition to the Friant leadership team and staff,” Amaral said.
It’s unknown what Limas will earn in the new position.
In 2024 at Lower Tule/Pixley, he made $287,400 in pay and $94,669 in benefits for a total compensation package of $382,069, according to the website Transparent California, which tracks public employee pay.
That same year, when Amaral was Friant’s chief operating officer, he earned $372,149 in pay and $73,861 in benefits for a total package of $446,010, according to Transparent California.
Limas has been a central figure in water management of the Tule subbasin since 2002, when he joined Lower Tule and Pixley as controller. He worked his way up to assistant general manager, then general manager in 2018.
Limas also manages the much smaller Vandalia Irrigation District and Tea Pot Dome Water District. All four districts elected to become their own groundwater sustainability agencies in the wake of the state Water Resources Control Board’s decision to place the Tule subbasin on probation in 2024 for lacking an adequate groundwater management plan. Probation comes with well registration at $300 each, reporting and fees of $20 per acre-foot pumped.
Limas’ change in jobs comes on the heels of more tumult in the subbasin.
On Thursday afternoon, Water Board staff released a recommendation that the board deny exclusion requests from eight Tule subbasin GSAs, including Pixley, Lower Tule, Vandalia and Tea Pot Dome. The exclusions sought to shield landowners from pumping and reporting fees that begin on May 1.
Which begs the question, what Limas’ departure will mean for the Tule subbasin during this pivotal time.
“Obviously when someone leaves with the caliber of Eric, it leaves a hole,” Amaral acknowledged. “One thing I’ve learned is that there isn’t a person on this planet that is not replaceable. The districts will go through a process to find a successor and there are lots of talented people in water space who can take the helm.”
Andrew Hart, a grower and board member at Kern-Tulare Water District GSA who is coordinating a group of farmers and water agency staff to solve disagreements in the Tule subbasin, said Limas’ career shift won’t impact the subbasin’s efforts to get out of probation.
“Eric has been great to work with in this process and supportive of working cooperatively. I think whoever takes his place will feel the same way,” Hart said.
