State Water Resources Control Board launches Gears reporting system for GSAs; May 1, 2026 filing deadline set

The State Water Resources Control Board on a virtual workshop on May 14 demonstrated Gears, its new groundwater extraction annual reporting system, and told groundwater sustainability agency staff how to register accounts, invite extractors and submit extraction reports ahead of a May 1, 2026 filing deadline.

Natalie Stork, director of the board’s Office of Sustainable Groundwater Management, opened the session and said the system is intended to collect extraction data and associated fees from well owners located in probationary basins to support implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. “We appreciate you joining us today to learn more about Gears, our groundwater extraction annual reporting system,” Stork said.

Anthony Wlettez, a senior engineering geologist, said well owners in the Tiller Lake subbasin must file two reporting periods (July 15, 2024–Sept. 30, 2024, and Oct. 1, 2024–Sept. 30, 2025), while the Tuli subbasin will use a single calendar-year reporting period (Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2025). He added that reports filed after May 1 will incur monthly late fees. Staff also stated a base filing fee of $300 per well applies for the second Tiller Lake reporting period.

The board will consider a proposed minimal-impact exclusion (staff described the draft threshold as 20 acre-feet per year) at its April 7, 2026 meeting; staff said that any adopted exclusion likely would not apply to extractors operating within two miles of the Fryant Current Canal. The board is also scheduled to consider eight GSA exclusion requests for the Tuli subbasin on April 21, 2026.

Amanda Howry, an engineering geologist, led a live walkthrough of the Gears web interface and showed how GSAs can create accounts, invite extractors using the 16-digit correspondence ID in state letters, plot wells, add parcels of use and submit extraction reports. She demonstrated three reporting methods: report-by-well (monthly acre-feet per well with meter calibration documentation), report-by-evapotranspiration (parcel-level ET estimates and irrigation-efficiency inputs) and bulk CSV uploads for wells or volumes. Howry noted certified meters must have calibration certificates dated within five years of the water-year end to be accepted as “certified meter” evidence; otherwise users must choose an unmetered estimate method and upload documentation of the estimation methodology.

Howry showed the finalize-extraction step that users must complete for a water year so the system can calculate fees and produce a fee-summary document listing the number of wells, total volumes, base and volumetric fees and any late fees. She also pointed attendees to Gears resources (user guides, tutorial videos and sample letters) posted on the State Water Board website and confirmed that recordings and additional workshops will be made available.

Why it matters: Gears centralizes statewide extraction data that the board may use to inform interim plans and enforcement actions in probationary basins. The system also shifts reporting mechanics onto an online portal, creating timing and documentation requirements (IDs, calibration records, parcel/ET details) that GSAs may help pumpers meet by acting as agents.

State staff said they will host in-person office hours in April for affected basins and a separate extractor-focused workshop on Thursday; they also provided a dedicated contact address (sigma@waterboards.ca.gov) and the program web page for follow-up and assistance. The board advised pumpers and GSAs to begin account setup, collect correspondence IDs, assemble meter calibration or estimation documentation, and—if applicable—prepare fee‑waiver requests by May 1, 2026 to avoid late fees.