Well registration is moving toward mandatory enforcement, with two public workshops scheduled April 6 and April 21 before any formal board action. The fallow field policy amendment was discussed for rework after unresolved questions about cover crop water use and the definition of fallow. A multi-agency water banking feasibility report is expected in April, with a potential special board meeting.
Well registration is moving toward a mandatory program, with the committee favoring an option that could zero out allocations for non-compliant growers and asking staff to draft policy and hold stakeholder workshops; staff will begin rolling out a fast‑track registration process to reduce grower burden as notices go out with upcoming invoices.
The Kaweah Subbasin successfully avoided state probation after a unanimous State Board vote to return it to DWR oversight, averting an estimated $10–15M in annual state fees. The Board agreed to move forward with the Cameron Creek recharge project despite a $450k–$650k cost gap to be shared by member agencies. With only 79 of 1,542 wells registered (8%), the Board supported a raffle-style flow meter reimbursement incentive through April 1.
At their “State of the Subbasin” event, three GSAs delivered news growers had been waiting for: they'd avoided state probation. After revising their plans twice, Greater Kaweah, Mid-Kaweah, and East Kaweah made their coordination agreement operational with nine functional technical teams and unified monitoring across the basin. Now they're focused on three implementation priorities—water quality monitoring, land subsidence mitigation, and groundwater level management. Here's how they ...
MKGSA will have a December 2nd hearing where state staff recommends returning basin management to DWR oversight. The board approved a comprehensive well registration program with a three-phase approach targeting completion by June 2026, starting with voluntary registration and intensive outreach. The agency also approved its first well mitigation project for a dry domestic well, with costs up to $57,450 and specific conditions requiring equipment analysis and video inspection.
