MID votes yea on water sale talks

The Modesto Irrigation District voted on Tuesday to negotiate a water sale agreement with the City and County of San Francisco.

The move allows the MID general manager to continue ongoing talks over an initial agreement to sell up to 2,200 acre-feet of water from the Tuolumne River annually to San Francisco. The two parties also will continue working on a long-term agreement that could lead to an annual water transfer of up to 25,000 acre-feet.

If it eventually happens, the water sale is expected to raise about $1.5 million annually for MID, which pulls its water from the Tuolumne River at Don Pedro Reservoir.

MID officials have said the money would go toward $115 million in improvements to the district’s water system and the costly relicensing process for the Don Pedro dam.