A report from an independent investigation has challenged statements made by Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Director Larry Byrd regarding how he irrigated his almond orchard, though it stopped short of confirming whether he illegally diverted water.
Byrd, a member of the MID Board of Directors since 2011, came under scrutiny following allegations that he used his district-allocated water to irrigate parts of his almond ranch located outside the official boundaries of the district. The property in question, AB La Grange Ranch, covers 436 acres east of Roberts Ferry, with about 340 acres inside MID’s jurisdiction and 96 acres outside.
At a board meeting on September 23, Byrd denied any wrongdoing. “As I have said from the beginning, the small portion of the orchard outside of the MID boundaries is irrigated with well water,” Byrd stated. “This entire issue is based on false claims by a disgruntled former employee who I fired, and that have been repeated over and over as an organized political smear campaign.”
However, a report released Thursday by Visalia-based firm 4Creeks indicated otherwise. The firm’s investigation found that between 2021 and 2024 there were significant groundwater deficits on Byrd’s out-of-district land. According to their findings: “groundwater alone could not have met the full irrigation demands of crops cultivated” during those years.
The report estimated annual groundwater shortages ranging from 0.65 acre-feet per acre at minimum to as much as four acre-feet per acre at maximum for the out-of-district section—equivalent to hundreds of thousands or even millions of gallons each year. It concluded: “Given the magnitude of these shortfalls, an alternative source of irrigation water would have been required to supplement groundwater pumping and satisfy the total irrigation water requirements for the Out-MID unit during water years 2021 through 2024.”
Investigators noted their estimates may actually overstate available groundwater because they applied nine-year averages across just three years being studied: “Despite this conservative approach, the cumulative water balance assessment demonstrates that available groundwater was insufficient to satisfy crop irrigation requirements for the Out-MID unit across the combined four-year period,” according to their report.
While these findings cast doubt on Byrd’s explanation that only well water was used for out-of-district trees, investigators were unable to determine where supplemental water might have come from or if surface water allocated for in-district land was used elsewhere.
The study reviewed both in-district and out-of-district sections separately. For in-district trees nourished by MID surface water allocations, researchers attempted to determine if surplus deliveries could explain potential diversion but found conflicting data between low-end and high-end estimates year-to-year. This inconsistency led them to state: “prevents confident determination of whether surface water deliveries consistently met, exceeded, or fell short of crop irrigation requirements.” They added: “Any conclusion regarding the potential application of MID surface water to Out-MID areas must acknowledge this fundamental uncertainty inherent in the water balance methodology.”
Investigators relied on several data sources—including precipitation records, evapotranspiration rates, usage logs for both surface and groundwater sources—as well as interviews with current and former employees at AB La Grange Ranch and MOD staff members.
Byrd’s orchard uses a microsprinkler system supplied either by a diesel-powered well pump or an electric pump drawing from MID canals.
The findings will be presented at MID’s next board meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning at its downtown Modesto office. The agenda allows for possible action related to this report along with appointments for new leadership positions within MID’s board.
Byrd did not respond immediately when asked for comment Friday afternoon.
