Farmers in the embattled Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency may have the glimmer of a path forward thanks to a bill that would alter its boundaries and governance.

Lisa McEwen

SJV Water

Assembly Bill 1044, introduced by Assembly Member Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare) Feb. 20, would create a new agency administered through Tulare County covering  half of Eastern Tule’s original acreage.

The bill was written at the county’s request after Eastern Tule lost all of its irrigation district members. They left to form their own groundwater agencies following a probationary finding in September by the state Water Resources Control Board, which scrutinized Eastern Tule’s water accounting methods.

The splintering off of irrigation districts, left the county as the lone governmental agency of the original Eastern Tule joint powers agreement.

Growers in large areas of Eastern Tule don’t have contracts for surface water. They farm areas called “white lands,” as they’re outside of water district boundaries and almost entirely dependent on groundwater.

The new groundwater entity will include the Hope and Ducor water districts, neither of which have surface water contracts either. But under recent Proposition 218 elections, the districts were able to levy land assessments to fund a study to look at connecting to the Friant-Kern Canal.

Related Story: Madera Groundwater Agency Can Collect Fees From Farmers Amid Legal Fight

Trying to Save Productive Farmland

“We’re trying to save some productive farmground by working toward bringing it some surface water,” Hope Water District Board Member Andrew Hart said. “We know we’re going to have to lose some of it. But if we can save some part of it, that will be best not only for growers but for the general economy of the area. The ripple effect will go pretty far if the majority of it comes out of production.”

Under AB 1044, administrative duties for the new groundwater agency would go through the county with the board made up of one member each from Hope and Ducor water districts, one supervisor, and two others from groundwater-dependent ag interests.

“It’s better representation for the growers this way,” said Supervisor Dennis Townsend, who sits on the Eastern Tule GSA board.

Hart said after the September Water Board meeting, growers “saw the handwriting on the wall” in terms of state concerns.

Under probation, farmers must meter and register their wells with the state at $300 each annually, report extractions and pay a $20 per-acre-foot pumped fee. If, after a year, local managers can’t develop what the state considers an adequately protective groundwater plan, the state can impose its own “interim” pumping mandates.

Farmers and local water managers want to avoid that.

Related Story: Latest Forecasts Predict a Wet March for Fresno

“If we can form a GSA of white area properties, have reasonable rules and regulations that abide with (the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act), and we are doing the things the state wants us to do, hopefully we can stave off implementation of an interim plan,” Hart said. “Everything with SGMA is an unknown.”

The Tule subbasin was placed on probation with some exceptions for certain GSAs. Eastern Tule was not given a pass and its groundwater accounting was called “alarming” by Water Board members.

Groundwater accounting is also the subject of a lawsuit against Eastern Tule by the Friant Water Authority, which alleges the GSA gave farmers too many credits, allowing them to continue overpumping, contributing to subsidence that has damaged the Friant-Kern Canal.

About the Author

SJV Water Reporter Lisa McEwen grew up in Tulare County. She has reported on agriculture and other issues for a wide variety of publications, including, Ag Alert, Visalia Times-Delta, the Fresno Bee and the Tulare and Kings counties farm bureau publications.

About SJV Water

SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Email us at sjvwater@sjvwater.org.