Skip to main content
New: Groundwater program in developmentFor growersFor water sponsors
AgWaterAI

Free trial

Greater Kaweah GSA / SGMA field guide

Three tiers, three prices, and a yearly meter election.

Growing in Greater Kaweah? Water year 2026 gave every parcel 0.83 acre-feet per acre of sustainable yield plus a precipitation allocation, then 0.31 acre-feet of Tier 1 at up to $150 and 0.23 of Tier 2 at up to $250, with anything beyond at up to $500 and a cut next year. The Board can bill you on your own flowmeter instead of satellite ET if you elect it by October 1 of the water year and report every month; the election for water year 2027 was due October 1, 2026, so confirm the next election period with the GSA. Water year 2027 numbers were recommended in July and are not yet posted as adopted; the Board meets next on October 12, 2026.

Public sources checked . Confirm later changes with your GSA.

Estimate your exposureBook a 15-min call

The allocation

“Sustainable Yield Allocation is 0.83 acre-feet/acre; Tier 1 Penalty Allocation is 0.31 acre-feet/acre; Tier 2 Penalty Allocation is 0.23 acre-feet/acre. The combined total for Sustainable Yield, Tier 1 and Tier 2 is 1.37 acre-feet/acre.”

Water year 2026 runs October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. The Board approved its allocations at a special meeting on October 13, 2025, in units of evapotranspiration, that is, net usage. On top of the 1.37, each parcel receives a precipitation allocation by Township-Range-Section: a 25-year rolling average that ranges from 3 inches in the western portion of the GSA to 11 inches in the eastern portion, debited before anything else.

The native figure rose from 0.62 to 0.83 for water year 2026 when the Board moved the deep percolation of precipitation into the native sustainable yield and out of the precipitation allocation: direction to staff on September 8, 2025, Fourth Amended Rules approved October 13, 2025.

Water year 2027 (from October 1, 2026): the GSA's consulting engineer sent the Board a recommendation on July 10, 2026, with the precipitation table to follow in September. As of October 5, 2026 no posted minutes record adoption; the water year 2027 allocation is pending the October 12, 2026 Board meeting. This page carries no water year 2027 number.

The ramp-down (Rule 4.03(b)): transitional water, the Tier 1 and Tier 2 allocations together, is 70 percent of the 124,600 acre-foot average annual overdraft in water years 2026 to 2030, 40 percent in 2031 to 2035 and 20 percent in 2036 to 2040. There is no separate hard-cap number: no pumping beyond Tier 2 is allowed.

Carryover: native sustainable yield carries over on a five-year rolling basis; precipitation does not carry over; Tier 1 and Tier 2 carry over when the penalty rate is paid within 60 days of the start of the new water year or of annual invoicing, whichever is greater, and for at most five years. Carried-over native credits transfer inside the GSA on the GSA's form; Tier 1 and Tier 2 transfers reach no further than three zones and leave a percentage behind. Well registration is mandatory: the deadline was July 1, 2026, and Rule 2.01(c) allows a civil penalty of up to $1,000 plus $100 for each additional day.

The tiers and their prices

“Tier 1 Penalty Rate $150.00; Tier 2 Penalty Rate $250.00; Prohibited Tier Remains $500.00”

Water year 2026 rates, set at the September 8, 2025 Board meeting: Tier 1 up to $150 per acre-foot, Tier 2 up to $250, Prohibited Tier 3 up to $500. The allocation page records the same three rates for water year 2024 (set November 13, 2023) and water year 2025 (set October 2, 2024). Tier 3 also deducts the volume consumed from the next year's Tier 1 and Tier 2 allocation (Rule 4.03(c)(iii)).

Water year 2027 rates: not yet set as of October 5, 2026. The Chair reported on August 10, 2026 that the Board would take action the following month, and the September 14, 2026 agenda still listed a status report on the penalty rate. The next Board meeting is October 12, 2026.

Order of debit (Rule 3.04): precipitation, then sustainable yield and credits, then Tier 1, then Tier 2, and Prohibited Tier 3 after every other available source of water is exhausted.

Separate from the tiers: an annual land assessment the Board sets each fiscal year at a rate not to exceed $10 per acre; the June 2026 minutes note $6 per acre for the coming year.

Invoices, 60 days, then liens

“Current invoices direct payment within 60 days of receipt.”

Annual invoices for a water year go out about five months after it ends. For water year 2025, which ended September 30, 2025, staff reported in February 2026 that invoices were being finalized for issue in early March 2026. Rule 5.02 requires payment within 60 days of the invoice date.

What follows a missed payment, from the water year 2024 cycle: Resolution 2026-05 records that Tier balances were delinquent 60 days after the invoice showing them was sent; landowners with outstanding penalties were noticed beginning April 14, 2026 and monthly thereafter; the Board held a public hearing on June 8, 2026 and authorized staff to file Certificates of Lien with the Tulare County Recorder for the $1,265,880 listed in its Exhibit A.

Staff told the Board in July and August 2026 that the lien process for water year 2025 invoices would start sooner than in prior years and that future delinquent charges may move to the County tax roll. The Fifth Amended Rules state no late fee or interest rate; ask the GSA what applies to a late balance.

Flowmeter or satellite: the election

“communicate an election to use flowmeters to the GKGSA by October 1 of each water year”

Rule 2.02 of the Fifth Amended Rules measures use, at the option of the owner or operator, from flowmeters connected to the well continuously for the preceding year, or from evapotranspiration information obtained via satellite technology. The owner must communicate a flowmeter election to the GSA by October 1 of each water year and provide the meter information: manufacturer and model, install date, pipe diameter and meter size, who installed and calibrated it per manufacturer specifications, inspection records on the manufacturer's schedule, photos showing adequate straight pipe before and after the meter, crop and irrigation details, and a map if there are several meters. The GSA may inspect the meter.

Monthly reports of the quantity extracted at each parcel are due within 30 days of month end. A late report is deemed a withdrawal of the election, and the GSA falls back to the evapotranspiration data for that period. An owner may change the election after October 1 once a year, by request to the General Manager with Board approval. Metered accounting is net: gross groundwater pumped minus the GSA engineer's estimated return flow, calculated monthly within 60 days of month end. Wells constructed after August 15, 2022, the date the Rules were adopted, must have flowmeters.

Satellite: the subbasin contracts with Land IQ for monthly evapotranspiration data at the field level, and landowners who create a Water Dashboard account see the same data the GSA uses to track allocations. At its August 10, 2026 meeting the Board heard that evapotranspiration remains the main methodology and discussed whether and when a transition to meters should occur.

Why it matters: a missed monthly report quietly withdraws the election and puts you back on the satellite number for that period. Our platform keeps the daily, signed meter record, names on your dashboard any meter that has gone more than a week without a reading, and produces the monthly figure in time. The election letter and reports stay with you or your adviser.

Protests and appeals

“including the possibility of authorizing a separate methodology not identified in these Rules and Regulations”

The monthly usage number or the method (Rule 3.05(b)): written protest to the General Manager at the GSA's main office within 30 days of notification of net consumed groundwater use. The General Manager investigates and may bring a recommendation to the Board within 60 days; the Board acts within 60 days of receiving all relevant information, and may authorize a separate methodology.

The allocation (Rule 4.06(b)): written protest within 30 days of the date in the notice; Board action within 120 days of receiving all relevant information. A penalty (Rule 5.01(d) and (e)): written appeal to the General Manager within 30 days; the General Manager may ask for more evidence, and the Board may decide on the papers or hold a hearing. Individual appeals reach the Board agenda, as on September 14, 2026.

Data errors: the Water Dashboard lets landowners report a parcel boundary change, a discrepancy in assessed acreage or incorrect crop information.

The State

“designating the Kaweah Subbasin as probationary under SGMA is not necessary at this time”

The Kaweah Subbasin is not on State probation. On December 2, 2025 the State Water Resources Control Board adopted Resolution 2025-0040, finding that the subbasin's GSAs had addressed the deficiencies in the Department of Water Resources' inadequate determination, and returned the subbasin to DWR's jurisdiction. Greater Kaweah's December 3, 2025 release describes the decision as effectively retaining local control over groundwater management.

No State Water Board probationary designation applies to the Kaweah Subbasin as of October 5, 2026. The estimator on this page prices Greater Kaweah's Tier 3 charge and excludes any State Water Board fee.

What this means for a 500-acre orchard

Take a parcel with a 6-inch precipitation allocation (0.5 acre-feet per acre). Covered at no charge: 500 × (0.5 + 0.83) = 665 acre-feet of net consumptive use. The next 500 × 0.31 = 155 acre-feet of Tier 1 cost up to 155 × $150 = $23,250; the next 500 × 0.23 = 115 acre-feet of Tier 2 cost up to 115 × $250 = $28,750. Net use above 935 acre-feet is Prohibited Tier 3 at up to $500 per acre-foot plus a deduction from next year's tiers. Net use of 1,000 acre-feet on this parcel would cost up to $23,250 + $28,750 + 65 × $500 = $84,500 at the water year 2026 rates. Precipitation varies by parcel; use your own Township-Range-Section figure. Unit math, not a claim about your orchard.

The estimator below prices the Tier 3 portion. Enter 1.37 plus your precipitation figure in acre-feet as the per-acre budget; the Tier 1 and Tier 2 charges inside that budget are not included in its total. Estimate only. Verify with Greater Kaweah GSA.

Free SGMA estimator

Use your GSA account, not a county average.

ESTIMATE ONLY. Verify with your GSA. This is not a bill, a compliance determination or an irrigation recommendation.

Example selection. Confirm your parcel’s GSA.

Water year 2026, October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. Enter, as the per-acre budget, your parcel's precipitation allocation in acre-feet (inches divided by 12) plus 0.83 sustainable yield plus 0.31 Tier 1 plus 0.23 Tier 2, which is 1.37 acre-feet per acre plus precipitation. Enter net consumptive use as the GSA accounts it (satellite evapotranspiration or metered net use), not gross pumping.

Enter your eligible acres in place of the 500-acre example.

Use the same accounting basis as your GSA.

For this period and these acres. No assumed use.

Enter your acreage, GSA-approved budget and accounted use, then confirm the GSA and period. Blank does not mean zero.

Rate source, checked 2026-10-05: https://greaterkaweahgsa.org/groundwater-allocation/

AF means acre-feet. Inputs stay in this page and are not submitted to a server. The estimator reuses the allocation and tier arithmetic behind our SGMA calculator.

Kaweah Subbasin GSA contacts

County lines are not GSA boundaries. These are public agency and shared agency websites, not a determination of parcel coverage. Basin partners may extend into neighboring counties. Open the official directory or map before choosing a rate. Checked 2026-10-05.

Kaweah Subbasin

Greater Kaweah GSA office: 227 N West St., Visalia, CA 93291; (559) 302-9987; info@greaterkaweahgsa.org. The Board meets the second Monday of each month at 1:00 p.m.; the next meeting is October 12, 2026. Water Dashboard accounts: gsawd.com. Board chair: Chris Tantau; vice chair: Stephen Johnson. The site lists no staff page; Mark Larsen is named as General Manager on the GSA's transfer form and its December 3, 2025 release.

Official Kaweah Subbasin source

Greater Kaweah GSA questions

Is 1.37 my whole allocation?

No. Add your parcel's precipitation allocation (3 to 11 inches, by Township-Range-Section), which is debited before anything else.

What do Tier 1 and Tier 2 cost in water year 2027?

Not yet set. The water year 2026 rates were up to $150 and $250 per acre-foot, with up to $500 beyond Tier 2; the Board had not posted water year 2027 rates by October 5, 2026, and meets next on October 12, 2026.

Can I be billed on my flowmeter?

Yes, if you elect it by October 1 of the water year with the full meter documentation and report every month within 30 days; a missed report withdraws the election for that period. The election for water year 2027 was due October 1, 2026; a change after that date needs a request to the General Manager and Board approval, so confirm the next election period with the GSA.

What happens if I do not pay?

After 60 days the balance is delinquent; the GSA sends monthly notices, holds a hearing and records liens with the County Recorder, and is considering the county tax roll for future years.

Bring the allocation statement. We'll work through the math.

A short conversation about your accounting basis, missing evidence and questions for the GSA. No assumed water savings.

Or send us your GSA, acres, crop and how your water is measured for a free water position check.

Book a 15-min callGet a free water position check