Wed Sep 18 17:27:00 UTC 2024: ## Tulare County Farmers Face Increased Scrutiny as Groundwater Basin Placed on Probation
**Sacramento, CA** – Southern Tulare County farmers are facing increased scrutiny after the State Water Resources Control Board placed the Tule groundwater subbasin on probation. The decision, made after a lengthy hearing on Tuesday, comes despite the region’s recent efforts to address over-pumping and land subsidence.
While acknowledging improvements in the new groundwater plan submitted by local water managers, the board cited continued land sinking as a “crisis,” highlighting damage to the critical Friant-Kern Canal. The board unanimously voted to place the Tule subbasin on probation, citing a staff report that indicated the region’s plan lacked sufficient measures to address subsidence.
The probationary designation requires most farmers in the region to meter and register their wells, pay a fee per acre-foot pumped, and begin reporting extractions by February 1, 2026. These new fees add to existing costs for farmers already struggling with declining land value and water availability.
Community members in small towns within the subbasin voiced concerns over deteriorating water quality and pressure, with residents reporting brown water and reliance on bottled water. Farmers, however, expressed concerns that the probationary designation would hinder progress and further damage the region’s agricultural economy.
The Water Board’s decision exempts the Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District and Kern-Tulare Water District from reporting requirements and fees, while leaving the door open for potential exemptions for the Lower Tule River and Pixley irrigation districts.
The probationary designation is the first step toward a potential state pumping takeover if the region fails to adequately address the subsidence problem within a year.
This decision follows a similar probationary designation for the Tulare Lake subbasin in neighboring Kings County earlier this year.
The ruling marks a significant development in California’s efforts to enforce the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which aims to bring overpumped aquifers into balance by 2040. The board is expected to review four other Valley groundwater subbasins for potential probation in the coming months.
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