Kern County Subbasin Avoids Probation Under SGMA

SACRAMENTO - The State Water Resources Control Board on Sept. 17 approved a resolution to return the Kern County Groundwater Subbasin to the Department of Water Resources' (DWR) jurisdiction under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), ending the possibility of probation for the subbasin in the state intervention process.

The State Water Board's vote came after substantial public comment during a hearing for the board to decide whether to designate the subbasin as probationary. The board postponed this decision in February to allow groundwater sustainability agencies more time to finalize significant progress in their sustainability plans.

A staff review of local agencies' new plans, submitted in June, found that the subbasin's 20 agencies substantially, but not completely, addressed deficiencies in prior plans to achieve groundwater sustainability goals by 2040. Among the new provisions that fully address prior deficiencies, the plans now include basin-wide approaches to setting appropriate management criteria for groundwater levels and quality. It also ramps down subsidence prior to 2040, with no additional subsidence after 2040.

"We applaud the progress that the Kern County Subbasin's groundwater agencies have made with their latest plans towards meeting sustainability goals," said State Water Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel. "The subbasin is the largest and one of the most important in the state, and the good coordination among local agencies toward a successful resolution of issues in their plans is a model for how achieving sustainability under SGMA is designed to work. The State Water Board is here to partner with the subbasin as it begins the critical work of implementation."