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South Fork Kings GSA / SGMA field guide

Your zone sets the allocation. Your meter sets the number.

Growing in South Fork Kings? Your parcel's allocation depends on which aquifer zone your wells draw from, and from October 1, 2026 the GSA counts your pumping against it: by Land IQ satellite estimate unless you report a compliant meter. This page is the State-probation page's local half; the State's own fee is on its own page.

Public sources checked . Confirm later changes with your GSA.

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The allocation, by zone and by year

“For the SFK GSA, the sustainable yield has been calculated at 0.86 acre-feet per acre (AF/ac).”

Allocation is per parcel on total parcel acres as registered with Kings County, for registered parcels of 5 acres or more (parcels can be combined). Parcels of 5 acres or less get a 2 acre-foot de minimis allocation unless registered as a qualified parcel. Transitional water goes to parcels irrigated at some point between 2015 and 2024 per Land IQ crop data.

Zones follow the well screen: A-zone wells are screened to 100 feet, B-zone wells between 100 feet and the top of the Corcoran Clay, C-zone wells below the Corcoran Clay.

Annual allocation in acre-feet per acre, from Table 1 of the policy. Water years 2026 to 2030: A-zone 3.00 total; B-zone 0.86 sustainable yield plus 1.80 transitional = 2.66; C-zone 0.86 plus 1.14 = 2.00. Water years 2031 to 2035: B-zone 0.86 plus 1.13 = 1.99; C-zone 0.86 plus 0.69 = 1.55. Water years 2036 to 2040: B-zone 0.86 plus 0.47 = 1.33; C-zone 0.86 plus 0.24 = 1.10. From 2041: 0.86, with no transitional water. Read Table 1 for the A-zone rows after 2030.

Cap: pumping "cannot exceed the combined total cap of 3.0 AF/ac annually for Water Years 2026 through 2030", or 4.0 with enough landowner-developed recharge credits. The water year runs October 1 to September 30.

Carryover: unused sustainable yield carries for the next four years under a five-year rolling retirement; transitional water does not carry over and cannot be transferred. Sustainable yield transfers inside the GSA are allowed; outside the GSA, the policy allows a transfer to a bordering GSA, within one mile of the boundary, in the same farm unit, metered and approved annually.

The overdraft penalty and the fee that is not yet set

“an additional overdraft penalty ... of $500 per AF”

Tier 2 overdraft, up to $500 per acre-foot: "an additional overdraft penalty ... of $500 per AF for the amount of pumping above their sustainable yield plus Transitional Tier I Allocation and landowner developed credits. In addition, the next year allocation will be reduced by the amount of the overage for that zone." A-zone pumping above 3.0 acre-feet per acre is treated the same way.

Tier 1 transitional pumping fee: the adopted policy says the fee "will be set at $XX ... and thereafter will be set by the SFK GSA Board annually prior to October 1." As of October 5, 2026 no dollar amount had been published; the Grower Advisory Committee's October 1, 2026 agenda still lists a "Prop 26 - Volume Based" budget proposal for review.

Timing: "neither fees or penalties will be charged for Water Year 2026. It is anticipated that the pumping fees and penalties will be implemented and set by Water Year 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027)."

Other charges on the books: a land assessment of $9.80 per acre for fiscal year 2026-27, the rate approved in the February 29, 2024 Proposition 218 election and carried as Resolution 2026-01 on the June 18, 2026 board agenda; a $100 per well late fee for wells over 2 acre-feet a year registered after April 30, 2026; and, for wells that do not meet the meter policy, extraction estimated from Land IQ "multiplied by an uncertainty factor (e.g., a 1.05 multiplier)."

Statements and invoices

"Landowner pumping is monitored quarterly using Land IQ data ... An annual groundwater pumping report based on Land IQ data will be produced for each landowner at the end of the year." No invoice date, due date or delinquency procedure for Tier 1 or Tier 2 charges had been published as of October 5, 2026; the policy reserves civil remedies to collect "penalties, fees, charges and/or assessments." The GSA lists an invoice line at (559) 202-3644.

Meter or satellite

“Landowners with meters may submit quarterly pumping reports as a substitute for the Land IQ analysis.”

Default: Land IQ evapotranspiration per parcel, quarterly, minus estimated surface water deliveries and USDA 80 percent effective precipitation (monthly, no carryover). Fallow parcels can be zeroed with documentation.

Meter alternative: the Water Meter Policy adopted June 18, 2026 sets the terms. Scope: wells pumping more than 2 acre-feet a year; domestic wells exempt; one meter may serve manifolded wells. Specification: plus or minus 3 percent accuracy, a totalizer in acre-feet, installed ahead of any other component on the well discharge line, and registered in Watermark (MLJ Environmental), the GSA's data system.

Deadlines: B-zone and C-zone wells were due to be metered by October 1, 2026, a date that has passed; A-zone wells are due by October 1, 2027. Confirm the status of your wells with the GSA. "Beginning October 1, 2026, well owners shall submit meter totalizer volumes monthly, no later than the fifteenth day of the following month, using the SFK GSA DMS, currently Watermark".

Upkeep: calibrated or replaced at least every five years by an independent testing facility or contractor holding a certification, with the reports uploaded to Watermark; abnormal readings fixed within 30 days. Existing non-conforming meters were due to be replaced by October 1, 2026, or the owner to supply third-party certification that the meter meets the accuracy standard. The owner pays for purchase, installation, calibration and reporting unless the GSA later funds a program.

Why it matters: a meter record that is late, uncalibrated or missing a month loses its standing against the Land IQ number. Our platform keeps a daily, signed record per meter, names on your dashboard any meter that has gone more than a week without a reading, and produces the monthly totalizer volume in time for the 15th. Reporting to Watermark stays with you or your adviser.

Contesting the number

"Landowners with meters may also contest the Annual Land IQ pumping report and appeal to the GSA Board to reconcile their accounts at the end of each calendar year." Landowners denied transitional eligibility "may also appeal the decision to the Board." Penalties are "determined by the SFK GSA Board" and may be appealed "directly to the SFK GSA Board."

No appeal form, filing deadline or hearing timeline had been posted as of October 5, 2026. The evidence that carries an appeal is a calibrated meter with a complete monthly record.

The State's probation fee is separate

The homepage carries a standing State Water Board block: GEARS reporting for July 15, 2024 to September 30, 2025 was due May 1, 2026, then February 1 following each reporting period; "Invoices for extraction fees will be mailed to pumpers after the reporting deadline."

The GSA's January 14, 2026 post repeats the State's fee of $300 per well plus $20 per acre-foot for non-de minimis pumpers, and the meter rule for pumpers over 500 acre-feet a year. Its latest statement on the litigation is that the Court of Appeal reversed the preliminary injunction in December 2025.

Nothing on southforkkings.org as of October 5, 2026 mentions the August 12, 2026 court order that the State Water Board's own Tulare Lake updates page (09/08/2026) describes. That order covers the Tri-County Water Authority GSA and Southwest Kings GSA territories and no others; it does not cover South Fork Kings. Our Tule and Tulare Lake probation page covers the State's own fee.

What this means for a 500-acre orchard

A 500-acre B-zone orchard's 2026 to 2030 allocation is 500 x 2.66 = 1,330 acre-feet a year (430 sustainable yield plus 900 transitional). Every acre-foot pumped above that, after any credits, carries the overdraft penalty of up to $500 per acre-foot and reduces next year's allocation by the same amount: 100 acre-feet over is up to $50,000 plus 100 acre-feet less next year.

The Tier 1 fee on the 900 transitional acre-feet is unknown until the Board sets it. This is unit math, not a claim that your orchard overuses water. Estimate only. Verify with South Fork Kings 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 2027, October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027. Enter, per registered acre, your zone's sustainable yield plus its transitional Tier 1 allocation for the water year from Table 1 (for 2026 to 2030: A-zone 3.00 total, B-zone 0.86 plus 1.80 = 2.66, C-zone 0.86 plus 1.14 = 2.00), plus any landowner-developed credits and sustainable-yield carryover on your Watermark account spread over the same acres. Enter GSA-accounted pumping as use: the Land IQ groundwater figure after the GSA's surface water and effective precipitation deductions, or your reported meter totals. Never add transitional water from another year, transferred transitional water, or anything above the 3.0 acre-feet per acre cap (4.0 with sufficient landowner-developed credits).

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://southforkkings.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SFK-GSA-Allocation-Policy-SFKGSA_ver-1.0_01152026.pdf

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.

Tulare Lake 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.

Tulare Lake Subbasin

South Fork Kings GSA: 321 C Street, Lemoore, CA 93245; office@southforkkings.org; office (559) 585-9011; invoice questions (559) 202-3644. The Board meets the third Thursday of the month at 5:30 pm in the Lemoore City Council Chambers, 429 C Street; upcoming meetings October 15, November 19 and December 17, 2026. Board as listed October 5, 2026: Joe Neves, Chair (County of Kings); Ceil Howe, Vice Chair (Empire West Side Irrigation District); Frank Gornick, Secretary (City of Lemoore); Michael Newton (Stratford Irrigation District); Scott Mercer (Stratford Public Utilities District). Administrative consultant: Johnny Gailey. Well registration and meter reporting run on Watermark (MLJ Environmental). Other GSAs share the subbasin; the agencies linked here are the ones whose public sites were checked on October 5, 2026. This is not a parcel-to-GSA determination.

Official Tulare Lake Subbasin source

South Fork Kings GSA questions

Is 0.86 acre-feet per acre my whole allocation?

No. 0.86 is the sustainable yield. B-zone and C-zone parcels irrigated between 2015 and 2024 also receive transitional water through 2040 (1.80 and 1.14 acre-feet per acre respectively in 2026 to 2030), and A-zone parcels have a flat 3.00 total.

What is the fee for pumping transitional water?

Not yet set. The policy leaves the Tier 1 fee to the Board "annually prior to October 1"; no figure had been published by October 5, 2026.

Can my own meter replace the Land IQ number?

Yes, if it meets the June 18, 2026 Water Meter Policy and you upload monthly totalizer volumes to Watermark by the 15th. Otherwise the GSA may use Land IQ times 1.05.

Do I pay the State too?

In the Tulare Lake Subbasin, most pumpers also report in GEARS and pay the State's $300 per well plus $20 per acre-foot, unless an exclusion applies. The August 12, 2026 court order that pauses State enforcement covers the Tri-County Water Authority GSA and Southwest Kings GSA territories, not South Fork Kings.

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

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