Tulare Lake groundwater sustainability agencies have six months to iron out a new plan for the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The State Water Resources Control Board has set the first of six hearings for plans the Department of Water Resources has deemed inadequate and sent to the board as the regulatory backstop.
The probation designation would mean the state officially takes over the plan. But officials have signaled they will continue to closely collaborate with local water managers to return the plan to their control as soon as possible. Farmers could face yet another round of new board fees to cover the cost, along with additional requirements for metering groundwater wells to track pumping.
By the way: A new report has confirmed what water officials have been stressing all year. Basins remain significantly depleted despite the wet 2022-23 winter. Groundwater levels have begun to increase from the previous drought, but only partially, and several more wet years and much more recharge are needed to recover completely from both the drought and the cumulative depletion.
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Despite the reemergence of Tulare Lake this year, groundwater levels declined in more than 30% of the region’s wells. Yet subsidence in critical areas has diminished since last year and fewer dry wells were reported overall.
DWR will have a clearer picture when it issues the final report for the 2023 water year next April, ahead of the first GSP hearing.
