Kern water districts approve new groundwater plan, talk turkey on delta tunnel
Several water districts held public hearings and voted to adopt the latest version of the 2024 Kern Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) that will be submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) the week of December 16. Water Board staff recommended the region be put on probation based largely on a 2022 plan that was found inadequate. Kern subbasin districts had submitted a new plan in May 2024, but the inadequate finding was not lifted. A hearing on whether to put Kern into probationary status is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2025. Under probation, farmers would have to meter and register their wells at $300 each, report extractions to the state and pay $20-per-acre-foot pumped. Those fees are on top of what they already pay to their water districts and groundwater agencies. If locals can’t come up with an acceptable plan after a year in probation, the state could step in and issue its own pumping restrictions.
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