By Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
The state Water Resources Control Board Tuesday passed a resolution to send the Chowchilla subbasin back under the purview of the Department of Water Resources.
So far, it is the only subbasin of seven in the San Joaquin Valley to have succeeded in making the U-turn away from potential probationary status.
Water Board members noted that early engagement from Chowchilla’s four groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) was key.
“This was the first basin that openly invited our staff to participate,” said vice chair Dorene D’Adamo. “I think we collectively came a long way so we could have good, strong, open dialogue. A good part of the reason why we are here as a state was highlighted in those first meetings.”
Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), overpumped regions must come up with groundwater plans to, among other things, protect domestic wells, stop land sinking and bring aquifers into balance by 2040.
The plans were evaluated and tweaked by DWR. But if they still couldn’t pass muster, the regions were sent to the Water Board, SGMA’s enforcement arm. One of the hammers used by the Water Board is probation, under which farmers must meter and register wells at $300 each, report extractions to the state and pay $20 per acre foot pumped.
If an adequate plan couldn’t be produced after a year under probation, the Water Board could step in and set its own pumping limits for the subbasin.
“While we’ve made considerable progress it’s come at considerable cost.”
– Stephanie Anagnoson, director of water and natural resources, Madera County
Chowchilla managers submitted several versions of its groundwater sustainability plan since 2022 and met with state water board staff seven times over the past three years.
Water Board staff said in an assessment of its latest plan that Chowchilla’s GSAs adequately addressed deficiencies, including:
- New, higher groundwater level goals to avoid drinking water impacts after 2040.
- A domestic well protection program that addresses water quality and impacts from lowering groundwater levels.
- Revised groundwater level goals that shouldn’t cause additional land subsidence after 2040.
- Substantially reduced pumping allocations.
Paul Gosselin, deputy director of the Department of Water Resources, said his agency will start fresh with a thorough review of Chowchilla’s GSP.
“It’s been a while since we dealt with Chowchilla and a lot has happened since then,” he said.
He added that DWR’s new subsidence guidelines, out later this month, “will be enormously helpful” to the basin. And: “This will be a much more interactive process to keep them on track, compliant with SGMA and bring the subbasin to sustainability.”
The Chowchilla subbasin has experienced more than five feet of subsidence in the last decade alone, especially in its western portion where a significant layer of Corcoran clay exists. In its newest groundwater plan, managers cranked down allowable groundwater pumping with both voluntary and mandatory policies, capping subsidence rates at two feet in 2025, with a goal of zero subsidence after 2040.
Subsidence, irreversible land sinking, backs up gravity-fed canals, streams and rivers reducing their carrying capacity and increasing the flood risks.
Stephanie Anagnoson, director of water and natural resources for Madera County, provided perspective to the board of the difficult work many GSA boards have undertaken.
Madera County GSA, one of Chowchilla’s four agencies, took a hard line on pumping allocations, including penalties for overuse. The current allocation is 25 inches, dropping over 15 years to only six inches.
“While we’ve made considerable progress it’s come at considerable cost,” she said, referring to multiple lawsuits. “There was no roadmap and today the landscape looks considerably different. We have numerous examples of GSAs with allocations in place, and even a demand management network of professionals to provide guidance. Now we have hope for navigating a future of reduced agricultural demand but prosperity for all.”
Board member Laurel Firestone praised Chowchilla’s robust domestic well program and called out Kaweah subbasin managers who were in the audience.
Both basins have contracted with Self-Help Enterprises, a Visalia-based nonprofit, to manage their well programs. In handing Chowchilla back to DWR, Firestone emphasized the importance of protecting drinking water for thousands of the state’s most vulnerable families.
“We have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars on emergency well mitigation,” she said. “There are subbasins in the San Joaquin Valley that have hundreds of wells on hauled water that taxpayers are paying for. As these mitigation programs evolve, the next phase is how the GSAs can take on those wells where appropriate. I hope more GSAs can do more of what you are all doing.”
The six other San Joaquin Valley subbasins found to have inadequate plans are in varying stages of the enforcement process.
The Water Board has already placed two valley subbasins on probation, including Tulare Lake, which covers most of Kings County, and the Tule subbasin, which covers the southern half of Tulare County’s flatlands.
The Kings County Farm Bureau sued the state and has so far been able to stave off probationary sanctions in the Tulare Lake subbasin. Probationary sanctions are just getting under way in the Tule subbasin.
The Kaweah subbasin, which covers Tulare County’s northern flatlands, was given a reprieve when the Water Board canceled its probationary hearing as staff found it was making good progress on its plan.
The Water Board held Kern’s probationary hearing in February and gave water managers more time to tweak that subbasin’s plan, also noting substantial progress. Its next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17.
The Chowchilla and Delta-Mendota subbasins were to come before the board sometime this year. The board hasn’t yet scheduled a hearing for the Delta-Mendota subbasin. The Pleasant Valley subbasin just received an inadequate designation for its plan in February.
