Ruling affirms James ID’s historic groundwater rights and denies MAGSA’s request for an emergency injunction to stop pumping from James ID’s wellfields
Press release from the James Irrigation District:
A California Superior Court has ruled in favor of James Irrigation District (James ID), denying an emergency injunction filed by the McMullin Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MAGSA) that sought to immediately halt James ID’s pumping from its 100-year-old wellfield to serve its farmers. The court’s decision affirms James ID’s ability to continue to exercise its deeded rights for the benefit of its landowners and water users, which have existed for more than a century. In its ruling, the court found that MAGSA failed to demonstrate that its demands outweighed the longstanding water rights held by James ID, or that any interim harm would justify the extraordinary measures that MAGSA requested the court to impose.
MAGSA and its landowners, who rely solely on groundwater and have no rights to Kings River or imported surface water supplies, have adopted an “export” policy that imposes permitting requirements and fees on groundwater pumped within MAGSA’s boundaries—even for use on adjacent land with existing rights. This policy was created without meaningful coordination with neighboring agencies and is aimed squarely at James ID, which operates a series of wells located east of the Fresno Slough Bypass.
James ID has made repeated attempts to negotiate a compromise with MAGSA leadership over the past year and a half. MAGSA leadership did not engage with these attempts and instead filed a lawsuit last July, during the height of irrigation season, aimed at shutting down James ID’s use of its 100-year-oldwell field to serve its farmers. The court rejected MAGSA’s motion for a preliminary injunction, finding that MAGSA failed to prove it would likely prevail at trial. This ruling highlights James ID’s senior water rights and reiterates that MAGSA’s export policy cannot override existing legal entitlements without compensation.
“This ruling is a clear and decisive win for James ID and for the principle that longstanding water rights matter in California,” said Manny Amorelli, General Manager of James Irrigation District. “MAGSA has tried to target our water rights at the expense of our farmers to avoid the hard work of fixing its groundwater deficit. We have tried in vain to negotiate in good faith with our neighbors from the time they first instituted their export policy, and we hope this ruling will finally bring them to the table to seek a sustainable solution.”
“MAGSA has no rights to Kings River water or imported water and has done nothing to improve groundwater conditions in the Kings Basin. They talk a big game about recharge, but the only tangible action they’ve taken has been to attack our water rights, even though we’ve delivered over one million acre-feet of surface water in the Kings Basin in the past 35 years. At some point, MAGSA must get serious and propose a realistic plan to deal with its major overdraft,” said Riley Chaney, President of the James ID Board of Directors.
2025-04-11 Order Denying Preliminary InjunctionAbout James Irrigation District: James Irrigation District spans roughly 26,400 acres in central Fresno County, including the City of San Joaquin. Since its founding in 1920, James ID has supported water users in its district and the larger region by securing dependable sources of water, investing substantially in conservation and recharge efforts, and working collaboratively to promote sustainability in the region.
