If Funding is Approved
- Local Landowners Guide Solutions
- Tailored Policies to Local Conditions
- Continued Stakeholder Involvement
- Accountability to Local Landowners
- Local Plans With Transparent Fees
Local funding
Proposed Funding Plan
Help Keep Groundwater Management Decisions Close to Home
The proposal
A two-part funding package
The Mid-Kings River GSA is proposing a two-part funding package including a land-based assessment and groundwater pumping fee to meet Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requirements and regain local control over groundwater management.
The Mid-Kings River GSA will consider adoption of an Engineer’s Report detailing the 5-year budget funded through the assessments and fee at its July 28th Board of Directors meeting. The Board will also consider at the upcoming meeting setting the date for two public hearings related to the funding package, anticipated to take place on September 29th.
Proposed funding would support efforts to keep groundwater decisions close to home. Limit state intervention. Protect local control.
Background
How Did We Get Here?
Under SGMA, groundwater rules have changed dramatically over the last decade.
2014
California passes the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), requiring brand new local agencies like the Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency to form and achieve sustainability by 2040. SGMA was passed to address chronic groundwater overdraft in basins across the state, including the Tulare Lake Subbasin.
2024
The State Water Resources Control Board placed the Tulare Lake Subbasin on probation after determining its Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP or Plan) did not provide sufficient evidence that the basin would achieve groundwater sustainability by the required 2040 deadline. The State cited concerns related to groundwater level declines, land subsidence, impacts to drinking water wells, and lack of reliable funding to implement the Plan.
Today: At Risk
Probation continues, resulting in increased State oversight, groundwater pumping fees, and reporting requirements. If probation continues, the State will take further action and advance its own groundwater plan. Under a fully State-managed plan or “Interim Plan”, local flexibility would be greatly reduced as decisions like how much groundwater landowners can pump are made by state regulators with less tailoring to local conditions.
Local leadership
Who We Are
We help guide local decisions
The Mid-Kings River GSA is led by a Stakeholder Advisory Committee made up of local farmers, landowners, and community leaders who understand the impacts of groundwater management decisions because they live and work here too. Our leadership is working to address State concerns and demonstrate measurable progress, but the GSA currently lacks the funding needed to exit State Water Board probation and manage groundwater sustainably for our area.
Service area
Who Is Affected?
The Mid-Kings River GSA encompasses approximately 97,300 acres in the northeastern portion of the Tulare Lake Subbasin in Kings County. It serves the communities of Hanford, Armona, Home Garden, Hardwick, and surrounding rural and agricultural lands.
What Happens Next?
Property owners affected by the funding proposal will receive notices and a ballot in the mail in August to participate in the decision-making process.
The land-based assessment will follow Proposition 218 election procedures, including landowner balloting to consider approval of a maximum rate. The groundwater pumping fee will follow Proposition 26 procedures and will include public noticing and consideration for adoption by the Board at a public hearing.
If Funding Fails
- Increased State Oversight
- One-Size-Fits-All Policies
- Reduced Local Influence
- Top-Down Groundwater Control
- State Developed Plans With Unknown Costs
Where the money goes
What the Funding Package Supports
01
Locally Driven Solutions
A locally led, locally funded Mid-Kings River GSA will give our community autonomy to develop its own rules and frameworks that give landowners as much flexibility as possible to operate within changes driven by SGMA.
02
Greater Stakeholder Involvement
Mid-Kings River GSA has expanded landowner engagement through its Stakeholder Advisory Committee and ongoing public outreach. Funding would support continued collaboration as local groundwater management strategies are implemented.
03
Basin-Wide Coordination
Funding would support collaboration among GSAs across the Tulare Lake Subbasin to update the Groundwater Sustainability Plan, coordinate technical studies and reporting, and address State concerns through a unified implementation strategy.
04
Transparency & Accountability
Groundwater monitoring, groundwater accounting, modeling, and data management systems that provide the information needed to track groundwater conditions, measure progress toward sustainability, and support transparent decision-making and accountability to landowners.
Resources
Additional resources, including the Engineer’s Report, election materials, and public hearing information will be posted here as they become available.
Attend a Public Workshop
The GSA will be hosting opportunities for the public to engage and ask questions at upcoming public workshops.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the proposed funding package, contact the Mid-Kings River GSA by email at mkrgsa@co.kings.ca.us.