$200,000 Grant Awarded to Support Groundwater Sustainability in the South Fork Kings GSA
The South Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency (SFKGSA) along with their technical consultant, Geosyntec Consultants and Kings River Conservation District, successfully obtained a $200,000 grant to support groundwater sustainability activities. Located in a region with variable water supply and susceptible to drought, the California Resilience Challenge grant awarded by the Bay Area Council Foundation will support SFKGSA’s groundwater sustainability by funding an Aquifer Storage and Recovery pilot program and a crucial data collection effort.
Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) is an innovative groundwater management method used in many parts of the United States to inject water for underground storage to be withdrawn later when surface water is limited, especially during periods of drought.
ASR is ideal for areas where conditions are not ideally suited for putting water back into the ground using recharge basins. Much of the land within the SFKGSA features dense soil types and clay layers making percolation to deeper groundwater zones inefficient. The work associated with the grant will evaluate the feasibility of ASR in the SFKGSA and determine if it is viable to scale with landowners on-farm.
The SFKGSA’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan, a roadmap to sustainable groundwater management, includes ASR as a high priority among the portfolio of projects to bring groundwater supplies into balance. The grant funding will allow the South Fork Kings GSA to conduct a pilot test of ASR and accelerate implementation of this supply-side solution to support groundwater recovery.
In addition to the ASR pilot program, landowner and community outreach will be used to obtain data on groundwater use and irrigation practices. To kick off work on the grant, a survey will be sent to all SFKGSA landowners and community residents in the coming months. The survey will assist in filling in crucial information for a more accurate picture of groundwater use.
The California Resilience Challenge grant is a statewide effort led by businesses, utilities, and a diverse range of partners, to build local and regional climate resilience and to support a shared vision for a resilient California in the face of climate threats, like drought. The South Fork Kings GSA is among twelve diverse, replicable, and innovative climate change adaptation projects across California to receive a grant. To view the other winning projects, click here.