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Survey conducted with local landowners sheds light on climate and drought perspectives

South Fork Kings GSA is conducting a series of surveys with landowners to better understand groundwater and land use. The first survey was designed to help the GSA understand landowners’ perspectives on how climate and drought impacts their groundwater supply.

Questions answered by respondents included: “On a scale of 0 (no threat) to 5 (greatly threatens), how much do you think climate change threatens your groundwater supply?” and “On a scale of 0 to 5, how would you rate the ability of your groundwater supply to recover from periods of drought?“.

The survey was conducted in June 2021, and results are now available to review on the survey webpage.

2022 Fiscal Year Updates

At the June 17th board meeting, the South Fork Kings Board approved the budget for the 2022 Fiscal Year. Here are a few items to note from that discussion.

Board levies $9/year assessment

The South Fork Kings GSA Board approved a resolution pursuant to South Fork Kings GSA’s 2018 Proposition 218 election, which authorized the Board to levy a five-year assessment up to the maximum of nine dollars and eighty cents per acre per year for SGMA implementation. The Board authorized an assessment of landowners for $9.00 per acre for fiscal year 2021-2022.

Board approves Geosyntec’s work orders for Fiscal Year 2022

Amer Hussain, a Geosyntec representative, presented task orders for the year as outlined by the Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Over the course of the year, Geosyntec will be performing the following task orders:

  1. Project Coordination/Meetings.
  2. Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Pilot Test- Geosyntec will finalize the ASR report to be submitted to the Regional Water Quality Control Board and Division of Drinking Water.
  3. ASR CEQA Document- A programmatic Environmental Impact Report under CEQA will be drafted and submitted to the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
  4. Groundwater Monitoring Program- This work will involve collecting semi-annual water level measurements, reviewing and evaluating GSA thresholds and objectives, and upholding commitments to monitoring programs as stated in the Tulare Lake Subbasin’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP).
  5. Database management.
  6. Grants- Geosyntec will research, manage and coordinate funding opportunities that South Fork Kings KGSA may qualify for and pursue.
  7. Project Design- Geosyntec will prepare and plan initial conceptual plans for project(s) and provide description of project(s) for the Tulare Lake Subbasin Annual Report.
  8. Surrounding Basin Coordination.
  9. Monitoring Well- The GSP identified five data gaps and outlined that five wells would be installed over time to gather that data. Geosyntec will coordinate the installation of a B-Zone well within a beneficial location to the GSA.

Separately, Geosyntec requested additional funds of $15,000 for the work they did to prepare the Water Year 2020 Annual Report on behalf of the Tulare Lake Subbasin. Additionally, Geosyntec also requested funding to prepare Water Year 2021’s Annual Report. Geosyntec anticipates that the Tulare Lake Subbasin will receive their comments from DWR on their GSP and then have 180 days to respond to these comments. Geosyntec is tasked with responding to these comments.

SFKGSA is only responsible for 15% of the fees charged to the Tulare Lake Subbasin for Annual Report work.

The Board approved these items.

Land IQ will provide important data to calculate groundwater extraction in the region

A one year contract with Land IQ was also approved by the South Fork Kings GSA Board. Land IQ will provide South Fork Kings GSA with evapotranspiration data, precipitation data, and land-use/crop data at a parcel level. This data will then be used to calculate groundwater extraction information.  Amer Hussain explained that in these calculations, surface water that is brought into the region will have to be subtracted. Land IQ will be directly contracted with South Fork Kings GSA to carry out this work.

Monitoring well will help to fill data gap identified in Groundwater Sustainability Plan

A monitoring well will be installed West of Stratford along Laurel Avenue using a sonic drilling method. The well will be 350 feet deep and 4 inches in diameter. This well will allow for water monitoring and sampling, providing missing data about water levels and quality that are necessary for effective implementation of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan.

Aquifer Storage and Recovery Pilot Test begins

South Fork Kings GSA is carrying out an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) pilot test, an innovative groundwater management method that involves injecting water for underground storage to be withdrawn later. Click here to learn more about the background behind the South Fork Kings GSA ASR Pilot Test.

The test began Monday, June 21st. South Fork Kings GSA is not using Lemoore Canal water, but the GSA is using their canals to carry out the test. The water for the test was purchased from a landowner. However, because the water will be returned, South Fork Kings GSA will only be paying for any water that is lost during the test.

The water will be injected for 30 days at approximately 800 gallons per minute and stored for 60 days. During this time, water levels in surrounding wells and the quality of the water injected will be monitored.

The water will then be extracted around September and returned to the landowner. The amount of surface water that is extracted and returned will be tracked. This will help the GSA to determine the efficiency of the test and how much water (if any) was not recovered.

In the future, this process could allow excess surface water to be stored in aquifers for future use in dry periods. Storing surface water and extracting it at the best time could play an important role in maximizing surface water supply in the region.

Sign up for our Interested Persons list to receive regular updates on this ASR Test and other activities going on in the GSA!

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