By Sonia Lemus, SJV Water
The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority board agreed at its March 11 meeting to provide the data it used to set its safe, or sustainable, yield amount to the Department of Water Resources for review.
DWR made the request as a trial over the issue is upcoming this June where a judge will look over evidence and set a safe yield figure for the eastern Kern County basin independently.
Safe yield is the amount of water that can be pumped from a basin without causing negative consequences, such as drying up domestic wells or causing land to sink. The safe yield is the crux of groundwater sustainability plans in overdrafted basins.
The Indian Wells Groundwater Authority groundwater plan, including its safe yield estimate of 7,600 acre feet per year, was approved by DWR in 2022.
Others in the basin, principally the Indian Wells Water District, have disputed the authority’s safe yield figure, suggesting the amount is closer to 14,000 acre feet a year.
The water district, which has a representative on the groundwater authority board, later filed what’s known as an adjudication in which a court decides a basin’s safe yield and who has rights to pump how much of that amount.
If the court changes the basin’s safe yield figure, that will require revisiting the authority’s groundwater plan, explained the authority’s legal counsel Keith Lemieux.
Lemieux said authority staff felt providing DWR an opportunity to weigh in on the analysis of the safe yield figure would be helpful to all parties.
David Saint-Amand, who represents the water district on the authority board, questioned if the submission was required by law. It is not, said Lemieux
Audience member Mike Sinnott asked if the authority would submit all of the information it had to DWR. It would, said Lemieux.
Sinnott then questioned if it was possible the data would show DWR a different safe yield number than the one submitted in the authority’s groundwater plan approved in 2022.
Lemieux said there is no action being considered now that would change the safe yield number.
Another audience member, Judy Decker, said that while she believes it is a good idea to submit this information to DWR, she questioned the qualifications of the people who work for DWR to be able to scientifically resolve the issue.
The board passed the motion with Saint-Amand voting no.
