Kings County groundwater agencies are now in a race to head off mandatory state pumping limits, which could be imposed by the end of 2027. Water managers are scrambling to get a new, unified groundwater plan to the state Water Resources Control Board by April 2027 that they hope regulators will approve. But Water Board staff  has already begun writing its own mandatory pumping plan for the region expected to be released next summer.  Given the severe subsidence, or land sinking, in the Tulare Lake subbasin, which covers most of Kings County, the state plan will likely include stringent pumping limits. Or even pumping moratoriums, as a recently released state plan could impose on farmers in the neighboring Tule subbasin. 

Other groundwater news:

• King City Rustler (Calif.): Water efficiency program expands to rural residents across Salinas Valley