This story was originally published by The Merced FOCUS.
Chowchilla residents in the upscale gated community of Greenhills Estates may soon see a change, following a year of watching lake levels fall, fish die and algae spread.
John Campbell, president of the Greenhills Master Association (HOA), said the board voted unanimously on June 30 to resume paying outstanding water delivery, lake maintenance and licensing fees. Plus it will continue paying monthly lake-related charges when they are due.
Campbell called the decision a “good faith effort” to get water flowing again while the homeowner association’s legal dispute with the Water Resource Council (WRC), which manages the lakes, continues.
The payment process will be worked out at an upcoming board meeting, Campbell said. He did not provide meeting minutes or other documentation confirming the reported June 30 vote when requested by The Merced FOCUS.
WRC attorney Matthew Backowski said the council had not yet received confirmation that Greenhills had approved the payments or that any money had been paid.
“If Greenhills has in fact voted to pay the outstanding amounts and resume monthly payments going forward, that would be a positive and overdue step,” Backowski said in an email to The Merced FOCUS.
“However, the WRC would need to confirm what was actually approved, what amounts are being paid, and whether Greenhills intends to fully comply with its obligations under the governing agreements,” Backowski said. “Merely saying payment will be made does not resolve the issue. What matters is actual payment, confirmation of the amounts being paid, and continued timely performance going forward.”
Separately, Sierra Golf Management (SGM), which is also being sued by the HOA, announced it will no longer provide lake maintenance and administrative services under a new agreement.
In a statement, SGM cited ongoing litigation and alleged contractual breaches by Greenhills, saying it will no longer provide lake maintenance and administrative services to Greenhills Estates, Pheasant Run Golf, The Villas and The Lakes RV Park, requiring the four entities to find a new service provider.
“SGM simply cannot – and will not – continue under a framework in which Greenhills reaps the benefits of the water system while refusing to bear the corresponding responsibilities,” SGM officials said in the statement.
The ongoing lawsuit centers on a contract dispute between the Greenhills HOA and the WRC over cost-sharing for the community’s shared water system.
According to the 2021 agreement, Greenhills is responsible for 66.77% of operating and maintenance costs, a percentage calculated using the lakes’ surface area at full capacity. According to documents posted on the WRC’s website, the parties discussed resolving the dispute through non-binding mediation on Aug. 1, 2025, but the HOA did not respond to the offer.
However, the HOA filed suit, and the case remains active in Madera County Superior Court. The HOA recently filed an amended complaint and a case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 10.
For residents such as Chris Elias, the lakes’ decline has meant months of frustration and unanswered questions.
Elias once took pride in showing friends his lakefront home. Now, he says he’s embarrassed to invite people over.
“I’ve had a couple people come over and say, ‘Damn, what’s going on?’” Elias said. “I tell them, ‘We’re in a water fight,’ and then I have to explain why everything looks so bad.”
Residents question where the money is going
For Elias, the numbers no longer make sense. Month after month, he and his neighbors pay for lake upkeep and shared amenities, yet water levels continue to fall, trash collects along the shoreline and once‑green common areas of land continue to deteriorate.
“For a year and a half, everybody here has been paying lake maintenance fees,” Elias said. “They haven’t put any water in it, haven’t done anything.
Another resident, Matthew Thiel, said he’s asking the same questions.
“Where are those cost shares going? Why is the board not being transparent about where they’re going,” Thiel said.
Elias said he believes the HOA is stockpiling lake maintenance fees to cover mounting legal bills, rather than spending the money on the lakes themselves.
Brad, who lives along the decaying lakes and asked to be identified only by his first name because of tensions in the community, said he sees it too.
Board members told residents the money is there, Brad said, and will be used if the HOA loses in court. But he said the community is already “so far behind” on water bills and still isn’t getting clear answers about how those funds are being used.
“If we lose, then we definitely lose, because we’re gonna have to have a special assessment on every home just to pay what we owe,” Brad said, referring to an extra fee billed to homeowners when the HOA runs out of money.
When asked if the board is considering a special assessment related to unpaid water bills or the lawsuit, Campbell said any decision would be made later as part of budget talks and would depend on how the court case plays out, calling it “too early” to say whether homeowners will face an extra charge.
The dispute has also strained relationships in the neighborhood, residents said, with arguments spilling onto Nextdoor, a social media app meant to connect neighbors. Many residents are hesitant to speak publicly about the case, fearing backlash from neighbors or board supporters.
HOA president says board will now pay overdue bills and resume payment
Campbell disputed that the HOA is stockpiling fees and hoarding money for legal costs instead of spending it on the lakes, calling that allegation inaccurate. The board decided to pay what it believes it owes for lake water and related costs, he said, including some charges it still disputes, in hopes of getting the water turned back on.
“Given the condition of the lakes, and given the fact that it’s not being addressed, the board has elected to pay the outstanding water delivery costs, pay the outstanding lake maintenance cost, pay the outstanding licensing fees, and pay the Kona Court installment for that well and continue to pay the monthly fees as they come due,” Campbell said.
Some of those payments will be made “under protest,” he said, but added it’s nonetheless a sincere action for the sake of the community and environment.
“We’re going to go ahead and pay them as a good faith effort to get the water flowing again with no necessary guarantee that the other side will turn the faucet on, but that’s how seriously we take our residents and their environmental concerns,” he said.
At the same time, Campbell said the HOA will continue its lawsuit against the WRC.
“We’re going to pay and continue to pay the monthly fees as they come due,” Campbell said. “At the same time, we will continue to pursue the litigation.”
Attorneys are gathering evidence and taking depositions with an eye toward how the dispute might be presented to a jury if it goes to trial, he said, but he declined to predict whether the case will ultimately be settled or decided by a jury.
Residents worry the dispute is hurting home values
On top of the visible deterioration, Elias said he’s concerned the ongoing dispute could affect the value of his home.
“I worked my whole life to provide for my family, and I bought this house three years ago at the high end,” Elias said. “Now, even if I had to sell, I couldn’t without taking a loss.”
Brad shares that concern.
“My house is only as worth it as the water that’s behind it,” he said. “The algae is blooming. Fish are dying. Nobody wants to live there.”
Those concerns are echoed by local real estate agent Scott Messing, who has sold homes in Greenhills for about 14 years and also lives in the area.
Messing told The Merced Focus that home values in Greenhills have already taken a hit, which he links to both the ongoing lake dispute and the wider market slowdown.
Homes that sold in the upper $500,000s and $600,000s about a year ago are now selling in the low $500,000s and high $400,000s, he said. Lakefront properties have been especially difficult to sell as buyers worry about low water levels, algae growth and the potential for higher HOA dues.
“There’s a lot of fear out there, and you’re limiting buyers through fear and through litigation,” Messing said.
Messing worries the potential for the court case to stretch into 2027 will only deepen the damage.
“The HOA has a right to know where every penny is going,” he said. “But if this goes on another year or more, I think the lakes will look worse, and values will decline even further, especially on the water.”
Campbell, however, declined comment when asked whether the legal dispute is hurting home values. It’s difficult to tie any price drops directly to the lawsuit without a formal analysis, he said.
“Without statistical review, I don’t know,” Campbell said. “We are in a real estate market that’s suffering for reasons beyond Greenhills’ water woes, and anytime water is involved, it’s always going to be an issue.”
