North Kings GSA submits Groundwater Sustainability Plan to DWR

North Kings GSA submitted its revised Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) to the State on July 27th, meeting the deadline to revise and resubmit after receiving comments on the initial GSP in January.

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has posted all revised GSPs on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) portal, available for public comment for a 60-day period concluding on September 30, 2022. DWR plans to make a determination on the resubmitted GSP this winter.

SGMA requires GSAs to develop and adopt a GSP. In critically overdrafted and high-priority basins like the Kings Subbasin, initial GSPs were due to the State in January 2020 for an initial review and determination by DWR. The North Kings GSA’s GSP was first adopted in November 2019 and was revised and re-adopted in June 2022 to address deficiencies noted by DWR in their review. 

The seven Kings Subbasin GSAs collectively worked to address DWR’s concerns with their initial GSPs and are committed to maintaining local control over SGMA implementation.

Final revisions to the GSP included addressing impacts of groundwater level decline, land subsidence impacts to canals and rivers, clarification of minimum thresholds for wells with water quality already over the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), and a commitment to gather further data on interconnected surface water. More information about the revision can be found in our post Groundwater Sustainability Plan revisions adopted by the Board in a unanimous vote.

Though the GSP has undergone several revisions, implementation started day one of the initial adoption in November 2019. Succeeding on the road to sustainability has always been a priority in the North Kings GSA, and the agency strives to keep implementation in the hands of locals.