At their October Board meeting, the South Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency Board discussed and approved a proposal by MLJ Environmental to develop an online portal. The immediate use of the portal will be to register existing wells within the boundaries of the South Fork Kings GSA. The portal can be expanded to support future sustainability programs.
To provide a user-friendly experience for landowners, the portal will be similar in function to the Kings River Water Quality Coalition member portal. Coalition members will have the ability to streamline well registration using their member portal to share contact information and other data, such as crop, parcel, and management practices with the South Fork Kings GSA portal. No data from the Coalition member would be accessed or shared with the South Fork Kings GSA without the member’s consent. The South Fork Kings GSA will provide instructional workshops and tools to assist landowners with account setup and use.
It is anticipated the portal will be available for use by early 2023. Those landowners or residents who use less than 2 acre-feet (an acre foot is approximately 326,000 gallons) per year of groundwater will not be required to register their wells. The contract with MLJ Environmental is a 4-year commitment with a monthly subscription cost of $3,400. If additional GSAs decide to subscribe to the portal with MLJ Environmental, the monthly subscription will be reduced based on the number of participating GSAs. Currently, one additional GSA, the North Fork Kings GSA, has approved participating in the portal subscription.