Staff discussed a recent State Water Board meeting and said a coordinated single GSP targeted for March or April 2027 may help avoid a state interim plan that could arrive by end of 2027 and rely on demand reduction. Subsidence was described as the key compliance issue under stricter probation standards applied to Tulare Lake. The groundwater flow model is about a month and a half behind schedule, with parallel 1D modeling underway to keep the overall timeline on track.
State Water Board staff outlined an interim plan process that could restrict pumping near the Friant-Kern Canal unless the Tule Sub-basin develops an equivalent approach; a draft is expected January 2027 with adoption targeted for April 2027. The board approved an MOU with Pixley Irrigation District and authorized up to five million dollars toward an NRCS RCPP match for voluntary land repurposing. DWR said Tulare Lake's subsidence management plan was too reactive.
The board approved committing to participate in a multi-GSA GSP effort consolidating ~13 GSAs in the Tule subbasin, and approved $198,300 toward a domestic well mitigation reserve fund. State staff recommended denying the Tule subbasin exclusion request; the hearing is April 21. A revised delinquent fee collection policy was also approved.
Board approved recording liens/notices for a landowner owing ~$745,000 in delinquent charges, without issuing a cease-extraction order; pumping may continue but at the $500 rate/level while credits remain frozen. The board adopted an updated subsidence map and approved a Southern Land Subsidence Study, expected to expand sub-basin-wide.
Board approved the 2026 budget, including funds for land easements, domestic well mitigation, and a meter reimbursement program of up to $3,500 per installation. Beginning January 1, 2026, a new allocation policy requires landowners to be in 'good standing' (balances paid and well access agreements on file) to receive allocations, with ET data subject to a multiplier where used instead of compliant meters.
