By Don A. Wright
The North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency Advisory Committee met on Friday, March 14, 2025 at the Clovis Police Department Community Room. This is one of, if not my favorite meetings to attend. No jealousy now, it’s because it is a relatively short drive from my palatial estate and it’s on Friday afternoons. So there’s really no need to pretend anyone’s truly going back to work that late on a Friday. And the room was filling up.
There were more members of the public than usual. They were engaged and asked good questions.
The Meeting
Vice Chair Adam Claes took control at 1:33pm, a mere three minutes after the schedule 1:30pm start time. Chairman Scott Redelf wasn’t available. Executive Director Kassy Chauhan led everyone through self-introductions.
Public Participation
The first item was a presentation from the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program concerning the relationship between the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and Small Farms. Erik Rodriguez was the on the ground representative and Ngodoo Atume called it in by phone. Chauhan said there has been a long and beneficial interaction with UC-SAREP.
It was a bit difficult for me to understand Ms. Atume between her very pleasant and charming accent and the array of two inch phone interface speakers located halfway across the room. However, her taste in visual presentations was impeccable. Her slides were not over burdened with text and graphs and charts and such. It was basically a set up for Rodriguez to fill in the details.
Rodriguez said he comes from Idaho but has been living here in the Valley since he was 11 years old. Kind of the opposite of Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite. He said small farmers generally use less water, two acre feet or less for mixed vegetables. His mission is to help the small farmers with understanding and adapting to SGMA. Rodriguez helps the small growers, and the vast majority are southeast Asian and of Mexican heritage in the Fresno County area. He invited everyone to talk with him and let him know how he can help. Good for him.
Minutes & Finances
Next the committee approved the minutes and wisely approved Lisa Koehn’s financial report. Fortunately, no one challenged her figures and no one was harmed. I mean their reputation not physicality because Koehn’s known for her accuracy.
Subbasin Coordination Update
Provost & Pritchard’s Ronnie Samuelian gave what was listed as the basin coordination update. I believe this is incorrect and another lump in the road to clear government communication. This isn’t Samuelian’s fault and I certainly don’t want imply it is. Here’s the facts: the North Kings GSA is in the Kings River Subbasin, which is in the Tulare Lake Basin. See what I’m getting at?
Samuelian reported on the periodic GSP update which was submitted on time and is now up for public review until sometime in April. The word is DWR won’t have a response until the end of the year.
The domestic well mitigation program is up and running and there will be a webinar from 3:00-4:00pm on March 25th for well drillers and pump companies. The coordinated work on interconnected surface water information is depending on working with the Madera
Subbasin GSAs, Friant, the US Bureau of Reclamation and the SJ River Restoration Program and a technical committee is being formed to get this effort up and running. This task falls almost entirely upon the North Kings GSA as most of the Subbasin’s physical contact with the San Joaquin River is the NKGSA northern boundary.
A finalized yield for white lands pumping in the Kings Subbasin is still ongoing. There is also talk about hiring a lobbyist/consultant to represent the GSAs in the subbasin. That was his report and there was a question from a well owner who wanted to know more about the interconnected waters issue.
Administrative Matters
Chauhan spoke about the costs and budget of the $1 million domestic well mitigation program. She said this isn’t all one year as the needs are going to vary by hydrological year. There are nine agencies that make up the North Kings GSA and the cost share is based partly on acreage. Biola pays $200 and Fresno Irrigation District pays $139,000 and other costs are divided between the remaining members.
Engineer Tom Krazan asked if there is a maximum amount to the funds available to a domestic well. Chauhan said the rules and procedures don’t have a hard cap but it varies by situation and location. He also asked if there is yet a list of approved drillers and Chauhan said that list has yet to be compiled but is a list on the to do list. Also, there are criteria to establish eligibility to participate in the program. In other words, you can’t go out and drill a 13 feet deep well and use a bunch of cardboard paper towel role centers, duct taped together as a casing and hope to get a new well.
How Ya Gonna Pay?
The next item was the NKGSA Domestic Well Mitigation Program Revolving Fund. Chauhan said a policy needs to be put in place. A fund balance of $3 million or three months of average expenses, which ever is less, is the goal. This amount could be adjusted up and down. Both legal and fiscal council have reviewed the policy and staff recommends the committee recommend the full NKGSA board adopt the policy.
This advisory committee doesn’t set policy or spend money. It, as the name implies, advises the Board on these matters. There was someone on the phone who asked if this funding would come from a Prop 218 election and no, the members will be billed individually. The committee voted unanimously to forward approval on to the Big Board.
Goals for 2025
Chauhan reviewed last year and laid out the goals for this year. She said 2024 was very busy and focused on the GSP revisions to stay out of probation. The Domestic Well Mitigation program was launched. New, minimum well depth was established to keep wells from being designed and built without SGMA considerations setting it up for failure.
Chauhan said there was 240 well applications and planning documents reviewed last year and a big western scary push to get the stakeholders up to date. New recharge programs were started at Garfield WD and Pinedale County WD. And there was a new Friant Kern Canal turnout to dump extra flood flows into a recharge basin.
Now, 2025 is here and Chauhan said some of the priorities for 2025 are carryovers from last year but new efforts are underway. Such as improving and expanding the well monitoring program. Better grant funding identification and continued Interconnected Surface/Groundwater Study. And, more engagement with elected officials and policy makers.
Chauhan gave a quick update on well permitting and registration. New permits are slightly down but the registration effort is a heavy, heavy lift. The estimate is more than 8,000 wells are in the GSA and some policy additions are most likely needed. There are sound reasons for this and while I’m not interested in more government control this bit of information could keep the State Board’s crip cold grasp out of the Subbasin. There has been some progress, maybe 15 percent or more of the wells are registered. The local GSA having knowledge of where the wells are located could be very helpful for the planning needed to keep local control.
Rodriguez brought up data confidentiality to ensure the privacy of well owners and that is a part of the plan. Chauhan said that was a good point and showed a map of where existing wells are located. Let’s say there’s a well on the corner of Main and 1st Avenues. There is a large circle that would overlay I’m guessing at least 300-400 acres or more, indicating the general location. There’s no way to figure out where the well is located within that area.
Work Groups
Claes said in addition to the well registration is the big effort on what the well mitigation program can be best funded and implemented longer than year by year. Claes moved right into the water supply situation. Now, it’s been raining hard for the past couple of days in the area and that hasn’t been taken into account yet.
Claes said the Bureau should be moving the allocation from 35 percent to 60 percent due
to the storms. Pine Flat Reservoir has space for more than almost 600,000 a/f of storage and because this is a particularly cold storm the inflow won’t be much until the weather warms. This year’s averages have been exceeded substantially in November and February. March has already exceeded the average. Claes said the snow water content in the snowpack is still a little low. Behind last year at this time. Fresno ID was able to deliver five months last year but only able to deliver four months using the pre storm figures.
The Exec Speaks
Chauhan said there are Prop 4 funding that should be available soon and to keep your eyes open. Outreach is improving and she’s had some good speaking opportunities. Easements for 12 new monitoring wells are in the works and that’s a good SGMA move. Spring 2025 groundwater levels are being monitored. She reminded those who must, the Form 700 reports are soon due. These are the conflict of financial interest documents.
Chauhan said staff is following the State Board probation process. The latest is the Kern Subbasin hearing wasn’t placed in probation, instead given more time to interact with staff. That was that. The next meeting may be either April 4th or the following Friday. The meeting adjourned at 3:10pm. Go be good to yourself and each other.
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SGMA The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 calls for the formation of Groundwater Sustainability Areas within Basins and Sub-basins to develop Groundwater Sustainability Plans.
MEMBERS: Bakman Water Company, Cities of Kerman, Fresno and Clovis, Fresno County, Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, Garfield Water District and Fresno ID. Chairman Scott Redelfs and Vice Chair Adam Claes.
STAFF: Kassy Chauhan-Executive Director, Lisa Koehn-Treasurer, Andrew Aller-Attorney
DWR # Listing: Basin San Joaquin, Sub Basin Kings 5-022.08
