News

Dear stakeholders, my name is Alexis Silveira; I have the pleasure of serving as the North Fork Kings GSA Deputy General Manager. With over eight years of experience in agriculture working for trade associations representing California’s farmers and ranchers in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., I have a strong understanding of the complexities surrounding California’s water systems and regulations.

In my role, I will primarily focus on the Dry Well Relief Program and landowner support. Please remember that our office is a resource for you, and the GSA is available to walk you through the different facets of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP).

I enjoyed the opportunity to work with so many of you throughout the past three months on well registration. It is important that, as landowners, you stay engaged and participate in the next phase of the GSP. I invite you to stay engaged by signing up for our email list at northforkkings.org or giving our office a call at (559) 632-7032. The Board of Directors, General Manager, and committees have been focused on ensuring the best possible outcome for the North Fork Kings GSA and its landowners, all within the guidelines of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Your representatives at the Board and committee level ensure that different perspectives are heard and addressed at each step.

I look forward to working with our landowners as we help ensure our area is sustainable and follows state regulations. Please do not hesitate to reach out via email at asilveira@northforkkings.org.

North Fork Kings GSA is finalizing plans for a pilot program to study groundwater pumping allocations. Through the pilot, participating landowners will be able to manage their groundwater allocations on Watermark. Although initially planned for fall 2024, the pilot launch has been delayed to allow for further research and to establish clear guidelines before implementation.

The GSA is researching the best way for surface water entities within its boundaries to report their data through Watermark. Additionally, the GSA’s Policy Committee is reviewing the rules and regulations, which will be sent to the Board of Directors for approval. Once approved, the pilot will be one step closer to implementation. North Fork Kings GSA is also waiting to receive key information from the Kings River Water Association regarding seepage calculations for surface water users, a key component before the pilot can begin.

A groundwater allocation pilot is being conducted to serve as a guide for future implementation of groundwater allocations in the GSA and to help the agency work through process and methodology with the input of landowners. North Fork Kings GSA is committed to providing landowners with transparent communication and will keep them informed once the pilot is underway.

To stay updated on the groundwater allocation pilot, and to share your insights and perspectives on groundwater allocations, attend the Board and committee meetings, and sign up for the email list at northforkkings.org.

The North Fork Kings GSA is now accepting new members to join the GSA’s Grower Advisory and Rural Community Advisory committees in 2025. As a committee member, stakeholders have the opportunity to provide input, information, and recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the GSA’s decisions on groundwater management.

The Rural Community Advisory Committee represents the interests of rural communities, and its members may include representatives of domestic well owners, municipal well operators, local land use planning agencies, community residents, and environmental justice or community benefit organizations with experience working with disadvantaged communities on drinking water, groundwater, or land use issues.

The Grower Advisory Committee represents the interests of agricultural producers, and its members may include, but is not limited to, growers within the North Fork Kings GSA. This committee tackles topics and policy discussions that especially impact agricultural production and grower operations.  

Current committee members must reapply if they wish to remain on the same committee. Current and prospective committee members should fill out the general application form here, and mark on the form their desired committee.

Download Application Here

Please submit your completed application by:

1. Emailing General Manager Justin Mendes at
   jmendes@northforkkings.org or
2. Mailing to North Fork Kings GSA, Attn: Justin Mendes, P.O. Box 158, Riverdale, CA 93656

Please submit your application by December 13, 2024. By joining a committee, our stakeholders have a tangible way to support programs and policies on groundwater management developed at the local level by the North Fork Kings GSA.

Thanks to the active participation of our landowners in the Well Registration Program, the North Fork Kings GSA is closer to completing State-required groundwater studies. Completing these studies is essential for keeping local control over groundwater management. While most landowners have registered their wells, the GSA urges those who haven’t yet to do so.

While many landowners registered by the September 30 deadline, the GSA understands that we entered the busy harvest season soon after the requirement was established on July 1st and may not have been able to complete their well registration. We also recognize that the new software tool Watermark came with challenges, and the Watermark support team at times faced a high volume of tickets that slowed response times. As a result, the North Fork Kings GSA has decided to hold a grace period for the $100 per well registration fee.

If you haven’t registered your well, the GSA encourages you to do so as soon as possible to avoid penalty fees during this grace period. To register, visit northforkkings.org/watermark.

The North Fork Kings GSA has updated its Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) to address the corrective actions outlined by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). The GSA’s primary goal is to maintain state approval of the GSP, ensuring continued local control of groundwater management through a stakeholder-driven process.

The public review draft of the updated GSP is now available for public review and comment as of October 11, and is available to view and download at northforkkings.org/gsp. The public comment period will conclude on November 20, 2024.
Stakeholders can submit their comments via mail to P.O. Box 158, Riverdale, CA 93656, or through our online form at
northforkkings.org/gsp.

In 2023, the North Fork Kings GSA received approval from DWR on its GSP, conditional on fixing 12 corrective actions. Since then, the GSA Board, committees, management and consultants have been focused on addressing these corrective actions. The GSA has consolidated these actions into three key priorities: implementing a Domestic Well Mitigation Program, conducting a Confined Aquifer Study, and completing an Interconnected Surface Water Study.

Thanks to our landowners and growers who have successfully registered their wells, the North Fork Kings GSA is well positioned with the data to conduct the Confined Aquifer Study and Interconnected Surface Water Study. These studies are vital to improving groundwater management and meeting state requirements.

The North Fork Kings GSA has also adopted rules and regulations for a Domestic Well Mitigation Program and will launch this effort mid-October as the “Dry Well Relief Program” to support households with wells impacted by groundwater decline.

The North Fork Kings GSA will conduct a pilot this fall to study groundwater pumping allocations. The pilot will serve as a guide for the future implementation of groundwater allocations in the GSA, and will help the agency work through process and methodology with the input of its landowners. The pilot is a collaborative process between one of the surface water units and its landowners within the North Fork Kings GSA.

Landowners in the pilot will be able to use Watermark to manage their groundwater allocations. On Watermark, these landowners will access and simulate water accounting capabilities, and view information about their water use in relation to their groundwater allocation and surface water supplies, including how much groundwater has been used and how much is available.

An allocation will limit the amount of groundwater that can be pumped per acre over a period of time. Because increasing surface water supply and recharge alone is not enough to fully balance groundwater pumping demands, having allocations in place is an important tool in the GSA’s toolbox to balance groundwater levels and reach sustainability under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

The GSA is committed to providing landowners with transparent communication and will keep landowners engaged throughout the pilot. After the pilot, the agency will determine a path forward for widescale implementation of groundwater allocations using the Watermark tool.

The Board of Directors recognizes that an allocation will affect landowners’ groundwater use. A stakeholder-driven process will continue to be in place for the development of the Groundwater Allocation Program to give landowners the opportunity to participate in designing an allocation that offers the maximum flexibility possible while meeting sustainability requirements.

To stay updated on the Groundwater Allocation Program, get engaged with us by attending the Board and Committee meetings, and sign up for the email list at northforkkings.org.

Attend an upcoming well registration event:

August 21, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM – Riverdale Memorial Hall, 3085 W Mount Whitney Ave, Riverdale, CA 93656

September 19, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Laguna Irrigation District, 5056 19 1/2 Ave, Riverdale, CA 93656

Drop-in before our upcoming board meetings:

August 28, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM – Riverdale Education Center, 3160 W Mount Whitney Ave, Riverdale, CA 93656

September 25, 4:30 – 5:30 PM – Riverdale Education Center, 3160 W Mount Whitney Ave, Riverdale, CA 93656

Join us at the Riverdale Swap Meet:

August 17, 3:00 PM – 6700 W Mount Whitney Ave, Riverdale, CA 93656