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Mid Kings GSA briefs Hanford on subsidence, well registration and a path to cut pumping; GSA says well registration due May 1
Summary
GSA staff told Hanford council the Tulare Lake subbasin faces up to 7.7 feet of subsidence in places, the Mid Kings River GSA is on probation, and a well-registration program and pumping data will be essential to identify contributors and manage triggers; GSA staff said some municipal exemptions and fee-relief options may apply.
Chuck Kenny, general manager of the Mid Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and Amer Hussain, the GSA engineer, gave a detailed update to the Hanford City Council on Feb. 17 about groundwater sustainability planning and subsidence in the Tulare Lake subbasin.
Kenny and Hussain presented maps and handouts showing cumulative subsidence since 2015 and a 2025 subsidence update. They said the state has identified subsidence as the number-one concern in the subbasin; in some locations the GSA’s data show more than 7 feet of subsidence over the past decade. The GSA emphasized that about 80% of groundwater extraction in the subbasin is agricultural, roughly 10% urban and the rest rural/industrial, but that concentrated municipal pumping can create local subsidence impacts.
The presenters described a grid-based subsidence management approach with scientific triggers that would require reduced pumping in affected cells and, in some cases, cessation of pumping by wells deemed to be contributing to local subsidence. They outlined a domestic-well mitigation program and said four wells identified as dry in the GSA will be included in a pilot program for repair, replacement or connection to community water.
Kenny and Hussain said the subbasin was placed on probation by the State Water Resources Control Board in April 2024 after the state found deficiencies in the earlier Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP). Communication with the state slowed during litigation brought by the Kings County Farm Bureau; that injunction has recently been lifted and the GSA has resumed meetings with the state to address the deficiencies. The GSA announced a May 1 deadline for registering wells, including municipal wells, and said staff is building an online portal and is retaining a contractor to support well registration.
Council members asked whether municipal pumping is a driver of subsidence; GSA staff replied that agricultural pumping accounts for the majority of volume but that concentrated urban pumping can contribute locally. GSA staff said they will coordinate with Hanford to account for municipal conservation measures (for example, new metering) and suggested cities should document conservation work so it can be credited in GSP analyses.
Financial and administrative topics were also discussed: the GSA described a proposed five-year budget funded by a combination of land assessments and pumping fees, noted a state probationary processing fee of $20 per acre-foot as part of the conversation about compliance costs, and said exemptions or fee relief may be possible for certain jurisdictions. The GSA also said a mid-Kings plan scenario under consideration could include substantial pumping reductions and that the agency is exploring grant funding for land repurposing and recharge projects to reduce subsidence.
Kenny and Hussain committed to continue coordination with Hanford staff, to update maps on the GSA web site and to return with further updates as the plan and regulatory discussions progress.
