By Monserrat Solis, SJV Water
Another Kings County groundwater agency has issued a draft policy on one of its thorniest issues – pumping allotments.
The South Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) approved a draft pumping allocation policy at its Oct. 16 meeting, which opens a 45-day comment period.
The neighboring Mid-Kings River GSA issued its draft policy Oct. 14 after numerous “very difficult” conversations about the amounts, according to consulting engineer Amer Hussain, who also works for South Fork.
Both policies allow farmers to pump one amount that’s considered “sustainable” yield, or the amount that can be extracted without causing negative impacts. Another amount in the allocation formula is called “transitional” pumping. That category is a buffer amount above sustainable yield that will decrease to 0 by 2040, when the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires regions to be in balance.
In the South Fork GSA, sustainable yield was set at .66 acre feet of groundwater per acre of land.
“The minute the injunction gets lifted, we need to be prepared to move and get our plan submitted, regardless of the rest of the subbasin.”
Consulting geologist Amer Hussain on implementing pumping restrictions and other measures in the South Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency
The other thorny issue for South Fork GSA was whether to allow sustainable yield groundwater to be traded outside its boundaries. Mid-Kings’ policy does not allow such trades.
Ultimately, South Fork did allow sustainable yield trading with some caveats including:
- The parcel receiving the groundwater must border South Fork Kings.
- Transfers must be approved by the involved GSAs.
- Land receiving the groundwater must be in ag production and contiguous to a parcel within South Kings.
- Water can only move within one mile of South Fork’s boundary.
Growers in South Fork’s advisory group hashed and rehashed this issue for months.
“It’s just the policing of it that is probably impossible once we allow this water to be transferred across into another GSA,” Doug Freitas, a farmer, said at a Sept. 18 GSA board meeting.
But Hussain, who also represents the Tri-County Water Authority in the Tulare Lake subbasin, said allowing sustainable yield trades outside of GSA boundaries will give landowners flexibility as groundwater restrictions continue to tighten.
Transitional pumping allotments, the amount above sustainable yield, are not allowed to be traded or transferred.
South Fork GSA also has to account for three aquifer zones in the subbasin. The top layer, called the A-zone, is a shallow section about 100 feet below ground level. The B-zone accommodates most of the domestic and agricultural wells. The C-zone sits below a thick layer of Corcoran clay more than 700 feet below the surface.
In South Fork’s proposed policy, the A-zone is given a blanket pumping cap through 2040 due to a lack of information in that zone. That may change as the GSA receives more data from that zone. The GSA board will have the discretion to set the transitional allocation before each water year.
While the sustainable yield allocation remains fixed, transitional amounts will decrease in five year blocks.
Transitional amounts are proposed as:
- 2026-2040 – 3 acre foot per acre of land from the A-zone
- 2026-2030 – 2 acre foot per acre of land from the B-zone
- 2026-2030 – 1.34 acre foot per acre of land from the C-Zone
- 2031-2035 – 1.33 acre foot per acre of land from the B-zone
- 2031-2035 – .89 acre foot per acre of land from the C-zone
- 2036-2040 – .67 acre foot per acre of land from the B-zone
- 2036-2040 – .44 acre foot per acre of land from the C-zone
“If we start to see undesirable results, we will start to limit pumping in those specific areas,” Hussain added.
Any unused sustainable yield would carry over within five-year blocks.
Landowners who have already registered their wells with the GSA and have five acres or more will be eligible for the policy. Any land in production between 2015 and 2024 will also be eligible for transitional allocation.
If a farmer pumps more than the allotted transitional water, they will be charged $500 per acre foot over their limit and have next year’s water allocation reduced.
“Water becomes a lot more expensive for people that continue to overpump,” Hussain said.
Ultimately, the GSA’s plan is to achieve sustainability before a judge rules on the groundwater legal battle between the Kings County Farm Bureau and the state Water Resources Control Board, which placed the subbasin on probation last year.
An injunction issued during the lawsuit has held state reporting and fee requirements at bay so far. Meanwhile, Tulare Lake subbasin GSAs have been working to implement their own pumping limits, recharge incentives and other measures in order to comply with SGMA.
“The minute the injunction gets lifted, we need to be prepared to move and get our plan submitted, regardless of the rest of the subbasin,” Hussain said.
