Informing and Engaging Stakeholders in the Kings and Tulare Lake Subbasins
July 2019
This and upcoming editions of the Kings River Region SGMA Updates will focus on the status of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP) in the Kings and Tulare Lake Subbasins. To date, two GSPs have released in the Kings Subbasin for public comment.

The GSP is the document outlining how the Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) will reach sustainability by 2040. Developing a GSP is required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The GSP includes a physical description of the GSA's management area including groundwater conditions, a water budget, groundwater management criteria and objectives, a monitoring program, and projects to help reach sustainability.
KINGS SUBBASIN GSP STATUS
The Kings Subbasin seven GSAs are each developing their own Groundwater Sustainability Plans and will be entering into a formal coordination agreement to achieve subbasin alignment toward sustainability.
MAGSA First to Release GSP in Kings Subbasin
At their July 10 Board meeting, the McMullin Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MAGSA) Board approved opening the draft  Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP)  90-day public review and comment period. First in the Kings Subbasin to release a full draft GSP, MAGSA staff and consultants are intent to allow ample time to consider comments and make any necessary revisions to the draft prior to submittal to the State by the January 31, 2020 deadline.

MAGSA’s consultant Provost & Pritchard provided the Board with an overview of the GSP, which lays out MAGSA’s historical and current groundwater conditions providing a snapshot of where MAGSA will start in 2020. MAGSA’s Board is proposing a phased approach over 20 years to mitigate the target overdraft of 91,100 acre-feet per year, which is MAGSA’s allocation of the Kings Subbasin 122,000 acre feet per year overdraft. The Kings Subbasin is considered a critically overdrafted groundwater basin.
MAGSA Upcoming GSP Events
WORKSHOP
August 13, 3-5 PM
Kerman Community Center
WEBINAR
August 15, 10 AM - 12 PM
At the July 17th Board meeting, the North Fork Kings GSA Board approved opening the draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) 90-day public review and comment period. Members of the public are encouraged to download the GSP on the website at  northforkkings.org/gspcomment  and provide comment for the agency’s consideration.

The GSP includes potential policies and projects that will impact groundwater management in the region for years to come as the North Fork Kings GSA works to achieve sustainable groundwater supply. Technical consultants worked over the last two years collecting data that documents historic and current groundwater conditions; the GSP uses this information as the foundation to define a path forward for how groundwater will be managed.
NFKGSA Upcoming GSP Events
COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
August 21, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Riverdale Community Education Center
LANDOWNER WORKSHOP
August 28, 6:00-8:00 PM
Riverdale Memorial Hall
WEBINAR
August 29, 3:00-5:00 PM
TULARE LAKE SUBBASIN GSP STATUS
The Tulare Lake Subbasin five GSAs, South Fork Kings, Mid-Kings, El Rico, Southwest Kings, and Tri-County Water Authority, are developing one Groundwater Sustainability Plan together for the entire Subbasin. It is anticipated the GSP will be completed in October.
Kings River Region SGMA Updates is produced by KRCD's External Affairs staff.
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