The committee recommended a $435,000 Phase 2 monitoring-well contract, with total costs estimated near $560,000 against a $750,000 budget. A clean audit found net position up about 75%, with no debt. Staff noted a $14,850 revenue shortfall caused by billing from an older spreadsheet. Draft SGMA grant guidelines outline $386 million statewide; concept proposals may be due in March 2027.
Director Prieto was elected Board Chair and Director Pacheco as Vice-Chair. Staff reported 8,229 wells registered (4,512 domestic; 2,847 agricultural). Kings River runoff is ~75% of average for 2025–26, with FID deliveries ending August 15 and Pine Flat Reservoir at ~355,000 AF, dropping ~9,000 AF/day. The August 27 board meeting was canceled, with a special meeting planned for September 3 where a well-registration enforcement policy may be considered.
The board approved a $1.9M budget for FY 2026-2027, increasing member agency assessments by roughly $250,000. Funding of $750,000 was allocated to expand the monitoring well network to approximately 10 additional wells, while the domestic well mitigation program was reduced from $1M to $500,000 due to minimal activity — no applications have been funded to date.
An unusually dry spring has produced record-low snowpack and Kings River April–July runoff projected at 46–60% of average. FID started irrigation mid-March to avoid spills and expects deliveries through July, prioritizing direct deliveries over recharge. FID reported its own storage bucket is at ~141,000 acre-feet (near max), while Pine Flat Reservoir holds ~832,000 acre-feet out of 1 million. The Board Prepares for Prop 4 SGMA Funding (~$350M Statewide)
The board approved a groundwater allocation framework accepting North Kings GSA's total allocation bucket at 445,600 acre-feet, with how that is divided among agencies to be worked out in coming months. Well registration has reached 8,179 wells, with a $100 late fee in effect and an enforcement policy in development. Reservoirs are high and Friant Class 1 is at 100 percent, but snowpack and runoff are below average.
