Agency Updates

Steve Jackson appointed to Policy Committee

The South Fork Kings GSA Board approved the appointment of Steve Jackson to the Policy Committee at its December 3rd meeting. Jackson is involved in ongoing SGMA efforts in the South Fork Kings GSA and serves on the Board of two Tulare Lake Subbasin GSAs, Tri-County Water Authority and Southwest Kings.

The Policy Committee is tasked with the development of policies that will guide the South Fork Kings GSA in its efforts to achieve groundwater sustainability in the area. A Groundwater Data Protection Policy adopted by the Board was developed under the guidance of the Policy Committee. The Committee will continue its work to draft policies in the coming months.

Tulare Lake Subbasin awarded $500,000 DWR grant to recover GSP development costs and fund future monitoring efforts

The Tulare Lake Subbasin received its full grant funding request of $500,000 from the CA Department of Water Resources (DWR). The Tulare Lake Subbasin, encompassing the South Fork Kings GSA, was among 53 applicants statewide to receive funding to support Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) development and implementation.

The Subbasin plans to use $350,000 of the funds to recover a portion of the GSAs’ contributions to finalize development of the GSP, the roadmap to balance groundwater supplies. The remaining $150,000 will be divided among the GSAs to fund GSP implementation activities. The South Fork Kings GSA plans to utilize its portion of the funds to support groundwater level monitoring efforts, a critical data-gathering activity for assessing sustainability progress.

DWR awarded approximately $47 million in total grant funds across the State. Proposition 68, passed in 2018, provides a significant $46.25 million of awarded funds. The additional $1.6 million is provided through Proposition 1, passed in 2014, conditional upon future reappropriation of grant funds in Fiscal Year 2021/22.

The grant is part of DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Grant Program providing funding for sustainable groundwater planning and project implementation through a competitive grant solicitation process. The Subbasin was previously awarded $1.5 million for GSP development in an earlier round of the program’s solicitations.

In addition to the DWR grant program the South Fork Kings GSA Board will continue to pursue other funding opportunities to offset the costs of implementing SGMA. At this time two additional grant funding opportunities are being pursued. An application has been submitted for DWR’s Technical Support Services grant to fund monitoring well installation. The well would provide data on groundwater levels in the deep aquifer zone below the Corcoran clay. A separate application was submitted for a private Climate Resiliency Grant to fund outreach efforts and Aquifer Storage and Recovery pilot testing.

Contract Approved with Geosyntec Consultants

The South Fork Kings GSA Board Members approved a contract with Geosyntec Consultants for technical engineering consulting services at a special board meeting held on August 17. The contract has two tasks. Task 1 is to provide general project management tasks through the end of Fiscal Year 2018. This task covers work for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2018, from August 17, 2017 to June 30, 2018. The budget for Task 1 is not to exceed $24,000.

Task 2 will be to assess the funding alternatives for GSP development and implementation. The Geosyntec team will prepare an analysis of current and future funding alternatives to meet the GSA’s obligations under SGMA. The funding strategy could include a combination of various Federal or State programs, new legislative opportunities that are created on periodic basis, and a Prop 218/Prop 26 special district election process. Task 2 covers work from August 17, 2017 to September 21, 2017. The estimated total fee for Task 2 is $8,000.

Board Supports Effort to Develop a Single GSP for the Tulare Lake Subbasin

At a special meeting on July 20, the South Fork Kings GSA Board of Directors approved entering into an agreement to facilitate a coordinated effort to develop and implement a single Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Tulare Lake Subbasin. The interim agreement creates a cost-share schedule and basic decision-making structure for the selection of a consultant to prepare a grant application. It is intended to be modified or replaced by a more comprehensive and longer-term coordination agreement following grant award recommendations later this year. The signatories to the agreement are South Fork Kings GSA, Mid Kings GSA, El Rico GSA, Southwest Kings GSA, Tri-County Water Authority, and Alpaugh Irrigation District.

Other actions by the Board included the approval of a $265,250 budget for fiscal year 2018 and the selection of Geosyntec Consultants to perform technical engineering services. Budget expenses include engineering services, legal costs, Tulare Lake Subbasin coordination, and administrative services including outreach. Geosyntec will support the South Fork Kings with planning and implementing of a Proposition 218 and/or Proposition 26 elections; oversee, manage and coordinate preparation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan; and other technical support including coordination with adjacent groundwater sustainability agencies.

SFK Board Approves Contract with Hydrogeological Consultant

At their June 15 Board meeting, the South Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency Board Members approved a contract with Aegis Groundwater Consulting. Aegis will provide initial hydrogeologic support needed related to the scoping of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan and coordination with adjoining GSAs to determine data quality objectives, data collection and verification procedures and other technical aspects related to the development of a hydrologic model for the subbasin.