Board Approves $8.71 Assessment, Secures Budget Revenue to Implement the Groundwater Sustainability Plan

The Board approved an assessment of $8.71 per acre for Fiscal Year 2021 at their June 18th meeting. Based on assessable acreage of 71,277.6 acres, this generates a projected revenue of $620,828 for agency administration and professional services to implement the Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The approved assessment is a decrease from the $9.80 per acre assessment collected in the previous fiscal year, which was the maximum amount approved by South Fork Kings GSA landowners in the Proposition 218 assessment election passed in 2018.

Items in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget include $75,324 for administrative costs, $488,948 for professional services including legal expense and technical tasks, and a $35,532 contingency. The remaining balance includes funds to repay member agencies for their start-up contribution to form and administer the South Fork Kings GSA prior to the assessment election revenues.

Especially critical is beginning the process of implementing the tasks and projects outlined in the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) adopted earlier this year in January. Professional services to be carried out by the South Fork Kings GSA’s technical consultant, Geosyntec, include work on a groundwater accounting program, a groundwater monitoring program and associated data management system, coordination with surrounding basins, and the initiation of an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) pilot project, among others. The cost of the ASR pilot project and related stakeholder outreach activities will be offset with the awarding of the California Resiliency Challenge grant (read more).

To view the approved Fiscal Year 2021 budget, click here.