Landowner Meeting – Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Update March 9, 2018
North Kern Water Storage District Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Update – Agenda March 9, 2018 1. Opening Remarks Board of Directors 2. SGMA Background and Schedule 3. Activities Focus to Date a. Kern Groundwater Authority (KGA) b. Kern River Miller-Haggin Groundwater Group c. “Poso” Group d. Surface Water Rights/North Kern Project 4. Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) Preparation a. Coordination b. Activity Schedule c. “Umbrella” (KGA)/”Chapter” (North Kern) d. North Kern Chapter Approach e. Communications 5. Landowner Questions and Comments 1
North Kern Water Storage District North Kern Objectives • Minimize impact on North Kern landowners (costs and fallowing) by: - Maintaining a positive long-term surface water supply balance Maintain access to historical Kern River supplies Expand direct recharge capabilities to capture additional wet year supplies Develop other supplies (unbalanced exchanges; additional produced water, etc.) - Confirming rights to supplies banked in the basin through conjunctive use operations 2
North Kern Water Storage District How did we get here? • Projects to import Federal and State water into Kern County helped stabilize groundwater levels for the 30 year period from the late 1970s into the mid-2000s, but less imported water has been available over the last 10 years West-East Groundwater Profiles Along Kimberlina Road 125’ 175’ Approximate Current Levels 3
North Kern Water Storage District SGMA Background and Schedule • Enacted in 2014 in response to chronic reductions in groundwater storage and water levels • Requires formation of “Groundwater Sustainability Agency” (GSA) – 2017 • Requires that GSA manage groundwater to prevent “undesirable results”: • Requires preparation of a “Groundwater Sustainability Plan” (GSP) - 2020 - Must have measurable objectives with 5-year milestones to achieve sustainability in 20 years (by 2040) • Failure to act will result in State Board imposing their plan with potential immediate pumping restrictions 4
North Kern Water Storage District Kern Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agencies 5
SGMA Timeline Jan 2020 GSP Completion 2040 Deadline* Sustainability Goal March 2016 Basin Boundary Every 5 Years Adjustments Due Interim Milestones & 5 ‐ Year Assessments 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040+ Sept 2014 Apr 2020 & Each Following Year SGMA Signed Annual Report Due Into Law June 2017 GSA Formation Deadline *For medium and high priority basins in critical overdraft
North Kern Water Storage District Activity Focus to Date 1. Kern Groundwater Authority (KGA) a. General Coordination with DWR and Other Basins b. Review of DWR SGMA Regulations c. White Papers (GSP Coordination Components) d. Valley-Wide Evapotranspiration Estimates – 1992-2016 e. Stakeholder Workshops - Issue Identification (Center for Collaborative Policy) f. Groundwater Modeling - with Kern River GSA; RMC Water and Environment g. GSA Formation (North Kern is part of the KGA GSA) h. Draft Coordination Agreement i. Kern GSA Policy Group j. KGA Management Team - Basin Coordinator and Planner k. Legal Issues Review l. GEI Tasks i. GSP Framework (Umbrella and Chapter) ii. Support for Coordination Committee and Urban Committee iii. Grant Support iv. Water Accounting Framework 7
North Kern Water Storage District Activity Focus to Date 2. Kern River Miller-Haggin Groundwater Group 3. “Poso” Group a. Hydrologic Conceptual Model (to support Basin Setting requirements of GSP) 8
North Kern Water Storage District Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP) • DWR completed emergency regulations in June 2016 Required Coordination Elements (a) Groundwater elevation data (b) Groundwater extraction data (c) Surface water supply (d) Total water use (e) Change in groundwater storage (f) Water budget (g) Sustainable yield 9
North Kern Water Storage District DWR Sustainable Management Criteria BMP (Draft) 50 ft MSL? (t) “Minimum threshold” refers to a numeric value for each sustainability indicator used to define undesirable results. (h) “Sustainability indicator” refers to any of the effects caused by groundwater conditions occurring throughout the basin that, when significant and unreasonable, cause undesirable results, as described in Water Code Section 10721(x) 10
North Kern Water Storage District Kern Subbasin Generalized GSP Schedule 11
North Kern Water Storage District Relative GSP Responsibility: “Umbrella” = KGA “Chapter” = District/Management Area Chapter Name Umbrella Chapter KGA Role Introduction Prepare Content Sub-basin Setting Summarize Content, Prepare Water Budgets Sustainability Goals Guidance, Summarize Content Monitoring Network Guidance, Summarize Content Management Criteria Guidance, Summarize Content, Modeling Water Supply Allocation Summarize Content, Modeling Projects/Management Summarize Content, Modeling Actions Database Management Develop Architecture and Implement Modeling Prepare Content, Modeling Consultant Implementation Guidance, Summarize Content 12
North Kern Water Storage District KGA 2018 GSP Preparation Tasks 13
North Kern Water Storage District North Kern Chapter GSP Approach • Options: 1. North Kern stand-alone GSP • Highest level of flexibility and control • Likely more expensive 2. North Kern “Management Area” GSP with City of Shafter, Shafter-Wasco ID and City of Wasco • City boundaries overlap Shafter-Wasco and North Kern • Reduces need for “coordination” • Likely less expensive - pooling of resources • North Kern is moving forward with Option 2 – Cooperative Agreement – GEI Proposal 14
North Kern Water Storage District Communications Plan (Stakeholder Outreach) • SGMA Legislation 10727.8. The groundwater sustainability agency may appoint and consult with an advisory committee consisting of interested parties for the purposes of developing and implementing a groundwater sustainability plan. The groundwater sustainability agency shall encourage the active involvement of diverse social, cultural, and economic elements of the population within the groundwater basin prior to and during the development and implementation of the groundwater sustainability plan. • Regular Informational Meetings • Regular Email Communications/Activities Updates • “Advisory Committee”/Working Group 15
North Kern Water Storage District Conclusion • Much SGMA work needs to be done before the end of 2019 • Not expected to have “all the answers” in initial GSP – information and knowledge will be acquired over time and plans will be adapted accordingly (“adaptive management”) • Some coordination issues may be “sticky” • District will communicate regularly and effectively with landowners 16
North Kern Water Storage District Questions, Comments and Suggestions March 9, 2018 17
Landowner Meeting – Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Update March 9, 2018
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