Groundwater Sustainability Plan
The plan for the subbasin
California's SGMA requires a local plan for every priority groundwater basin. The Tulare Lake Subbasin plan is developed jointly by five GSAs, including Mid-Kings River GSA.
SGMA, passed in 2014, requires every high- and medium-priority groundwater basin in California to be managed under a Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The GSP is the roadmap — it sets the sustainability goals, the metrics by which progress is measured, and the policies that will be used to reach them.
Our subbasin sits under five GSAs. The Mid-Kings River GSA covers the northeastern portion and contributes to a single, shared subbasin-wide plan. The State’s probation designation applies to the subbasin as a whole; management responsibility still sits locally, with each GSA.
How we got here
Regulatory timeline
January 2020
First GSP submitted to DWR
The five GSAs of the Tulare Lake Subbasin submitted a joint Groundwater Sustainability Plan to the California Department of Water Resources, meeting the initial SGMA deadline.
January 2022
DWR determination: revisions required
After a two-year review, DWR issued a determination letter requiring revisions to the 2020 plan. The subbasin GSAs had 180 days to respond.
July 2022
Revised GSP submitted
The GSAs submitted a revised plan addressing the 2022 DWR comments within the deadline.
March 2023
DWR finds revised GSP inadequate
DWR issued a second determination letter indicating the 2022 revised GSP did not sufficiently address the original concerns.
April 2024
Subbasin placed on State probation
The State Water Resources Control Board designated the Tulare Lake Subbasin as probationary — the first subbasin in California to receive that designation under SGMA.
May 2024
Second revised GSP submitted
The GSAs submitted another revised plan to the State Board addressing the probation findings. The agencies are awaiting a State Board response.