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

Free trial

Southwest Kings GSA / SGMA field guide

The rules were repealed in August. Read the draft before you budget.

Growing in Southwest Kings? The allocation policy adopted in February 2026 was stayed in May and repealed in August after two landowner lawsuits. A replacement draft went to the Board on September 18, 2026; whether it was adopted is not yet posted. Meter rules from February 2026 are in force now. This page gives you the dated record, not a rate.

Public sources checked . Confirm later changes with your GSA.

Estimate your exposureBook a 15-min call

Where the allocation policy stands

“The Allocation Policy is set aside, repealed, and no longer in effect.”

February 13, 2026: the Board "voted to approve the Groundwater Allocation Policy with revisions. (3-0)". The text of that policy was never posted on the GSA site.

May 14, 2026: landowners filed two petitions for writ of mandate "seeking to compel the Agency to repeal and set aside the Allocation and the Well Policy" (Kings County Superior Court cases 26CU0226 and 26CU0227).

May 21, 2026: "the Board voted to stay the implementation of the Groundwater Allocation Policy. (3-0)".

August 7, 2026: Resolution 2026-03 set both policies aside: "1. The Allocation Policy is set aside, repealed, and no longer in effect. 2. The New Well Policy is set aside, repealed, and no longer in effect." The minutes add that revised policies would be presented at a special meeting on September 18 after a public comment period.

September 18, 2026 special meeting: agenda items to adopt Resolution 2026-04 (Groundwater Well Policy) and Resolution 2026-05 (Groundwater Extraction Allocation Policy), both attached as "Public Review Draft, August 21, 2026". No minutes are posted, the October 2, 2026 regular meeting was canceled, and the next regular meeting is December 4, 2026. As of October 5, 2026 the GSA has not posted whether either resolution was adopted, so nothing from the drafts is treated as a rule on this page.

What the September 18 draft would do

“Public Review Draft, August 21, 2026”

Everything in this section is proposed in the August 21, 2026 public review draft, not adopted as of October 5, 2026. It went to the Board on September 18, 2026 and no result is posted. No figure below is a rule.

No acre-feet per acre number. The draft allocates by a yearly "Operating Yield": the Engineer starts from the GSP's sustainable yield for the management area, adjusts it "to avoid undesirable results," subtracts domestic allocations (Kettleman City CSD would get its 2015-16 to 2025-26 average; other domestic users would apply 30 days before the water year), and allocates the remainder "to all Eligible Parcels on a pro rata basis based on total acreage." Eligible parcels are assessor parcels excluding easements and rights-of-way, State-owned parcels, local public agency parcels inside their own jurisdiction, parcels under conservation easements barring extraction, parcels with severed groundwater rights, and parcels inside Kettleman City CSD or served by a public water system. So the basis would be total assessor acreage, not irrigated acreage, and the per-acre figure would change every water year with the Operating Yield.

Carryover: unused sustainable-yield credits could be used in a later water year but would "expire" if not used within the four following water years. Transfers inside the GSA with written approval; to another GSA in the basin where that GSA's policy allows such transfers. Recharge credits: "Chapter 3 [Reserved]".

Penalties (draft section 4.3), proposed in the August 21, 2026 public review draft and not adopted as of October 5, 2026, with no effective date stated: up to "(a) $500 per acre-foot of prohibited extraction (b) $1,000 for each day on which a violation of this Policy occurs and $100 for each additional day on which the violation continues," with the daily amounts applying where extraction has not stopped within 30 days of the Agency's notice. Overage would also be recorded as a negative balance that the next allocation offsets before anything else. The draft Well Policy carries the same schedule for pumping from unregistered or unmetered wells.

Procedure (draft section 4.4): notice of violation, a Board hearing no earlier than the 31st day after notice, and the Board decides the amount; or a superior court action. Appeals of Engineer decisions: a written appeal to the Board Secretary within 30 days; the Board's decision is final. None of this is in force until the GSA posts an adoption.

The meter rules in force now

“The landowner shall record the totalizer reading and self-report the totalizer reading to the SWK GSA monthly”

The Well Meter Policy (version 0.2, approved February 6, 2026) applies to wells pumping more than 2 acre-feet a year or with 70 GPM capacity. It requires in-line meters meeting AWWA C700 series standards, a flow rate in GPM, a totalizer reading in 0.00 acre-feet, and sizing and installation per AWWA Standard M6.

The landowner records and self-reports the totalizer reading monthly, within 10 days of the reading. Meters are tested and calibrated, or replaced, every five years ("Starting October 1, 2026") or per the manufacturer's recommendation, by an independent testing facility that meets the policy's qualification; readings that look abnormal mean inspection, testing and calibration within 30 days. Existing non-compliant meters "may have until December 1, 2026 to replace the existing meter".

Costs: "The GSA shall be responsible for the costs of purchasing and installing the flowmeter. The landowner shall be responsible for all costs for maintaining, record-keeping, and calibrating the meter." Any required action more than one month delinquent lets the GSA do the work and charge the landowner the full cost.

Well Registration Policy (January 30, 2026): wells "should be registered by February 6, 2026, and have until February 26, 2026, to finalize the process before incurring a penalty of $1,000 per day."

The GSA is installing Seametrics AG3000 magnetic meters with telemetry (Landmark Irrigation, Water Associates, WiseConn data) on an initial set of wells; five of eight had telemetry by August 7, 2026, with monthly pumping reports feeding the annual report. There is no landowner satellite-ET reporting option in any Southwest Kings policy; the GSA buys Land IQ data for its own monitoring.

Why it matters: a monthly self-reported totalizer with a ten-day deadline is the record the GSA will hold you to. Our platform keeps a daily, signed record per meter and produces the monthly reading on time; self-reporting to the GSA stays with you or your adviser.

What you pay today

“two dollars ($2.00) per acre for parcels 10 acres or more”

The one recurring charge in force is the land assessment: $2.00 per acre for parcels of 10 acres or more for 2026-27 (Resolution 2026-01, adopted August 7, 2026), collected on the Kings County tax roll under Resolution 2026-02, within a Proposition 218 ceiling of $5.00 per acre per year.

No invoice or payment schedule for allocation credits or penalties has been published as of October 5, 2026. The estimator below prices the land component and reports the groundwater penalty as unavailable.

The State's probation fee, and the court order

“Pumpers in the Tri-County Water Authority GSA and Southwest Kings GSA are not required to install meters, report extractions, or pay fees at this time.”

That is the State Water Board's Tulare Lake updates page (updated 09/08/2026). It says that on August 12, 2026 the trial court issued a limited preliminary injunction covering the Tri-County Water Authority GSA and Southwest Kings GSA territories, and no other part of the subbasin, so the Board cannot enforce the probationary designation there while the case is pending. The rest of the Tulare Lake Subbasin still reports and pays.

The litigation is pending. The next State reporting deadline for the rest of the subbasin is February 1, 2027; check the Board's page before then. The GSA's own February 6, 2026 meter policy is a local rule and is unaffected by the State order.

Southwest Kings' own website says nothing about State probation beyond closed-session items on its agendas and its 2024 "Good Actor" fee-exclusion request; the newest item on its news page is dated July 29, 2020. Its audited financial statements, in a note dated June 5, 2026 inside the August 7, 2026 packet, describe the earlier Farm Bureau lawsuit as having "put those requirements on hold", and the minutes record an updated fee-exemption letter (January 30, 2026) and monthly meetings with State Water Board staff (August 7, 2026).

What this means for a 500-acre orchard

There is no published allocation to multiply by, so this guide shows no penalty example. Under the penalty proposed in the August 21, 2026 public review draft, not adopted as of October 5, 2026, pumping above your credits would be prohibited extraction, up to $500 per acre-foot at the Board's discretion, plus a negative balance that the next allocation offsets before anything else.

What is adopted is simpler. At the 2026-27 land assessment of $2.00 per acre on parcels of 10 acres or more, 500 acres is 500 × $2.00 = $1,000 on the Kings County tax roll. Metering, by contrast, is already required. The estimator below prices the land component and reports the groundwater penalty as unavailable until the GSA posts an adopted policy. Estimate only. Verify with Southwest 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.

Fiscal year 2026-27 land assessment; no water year allocation in force. No allocation policy is in force: Resolution 2026-03 of August 7, 2026 repealed the February 2026 policy, and the GSA had not posted whether the September 18, 2026 draft was adopted when checked. There is no adopted budget to enter and no draft figure belongs here; to see the land component alone, enter 0 for the budget and 0 for use. What applies today is the February 6, 2026 Well Meter Policy: a well pumping more than 2 acre-feet a year or with 70 GPM capacity needs a compliant meter, and the landowner self-reports the totalizer reading monthly, within 10 days of the reading.

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://swkgsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/8-7-2026-SWKGSA-Minutes-approved.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

Southwest Kings GSA: info.swkgsa@gmail.com, 559-762-7192. Office: 944 Whitley Avenue, Suite B, Corcoran, CA 93212, (559) 992-8980. Regular board meetings are held at 1 p.m. on a Friday every other month at 19813 Madison Avenue, Stratford, CA 93266 (the public meetings page lists the dates); the October 2, 2026 meeting was canceled and the next regular meeting is December 4, 2026. Board as listed October 5, 2026: John Vidovich, Chair (Dudley Ridge Water District); Craig Andrew, Vice Chair (Tulare Lake Reclamation District No. 761); Jim Wilson, Secretary/Treasurer (Tulare Lake Reclamation District No. 761); two seats vacant. Engineer: Amer Hussain, Geosyntec. General Counsel: Brett Stroud, Young Wooldridge LLP. Partners listed here are public agency sites, not a parcel-to-GSA determination.

Official Tulare Lake Subbasin source

Southwest Kings GSA questions

What is my allocation in Southwest Kings?

As of October 5, 2026 there is none in force. The February 2026 policy was repealed on August 7, 2026 by Resolution 2026-03. The replacement, proposed in the August 21, 2026 public review draft and not adopted as of October 5, 2026, would set a yearly Operating Yield shared pro rata by assessor acreage rather than a fixed acre-feet per acre.

Is the $500 per acre-foot penalty in the September 18 draft in effect?

Not confirmed. The figure (up to $500 per acre-foot) is proposed in the August 21, 2026 public review draft, not adopted as of October 5, 2026. It went to the Board on September 18, 2026; no minutes are posted, the October 2, 2026 meeting was canceled, and the next regular meeting is December 4, 2026.

Do I have to meter my wells?

Yes, under the GSA's February 6, 2026 Well Meter Policy (wells pumping more than 2 acre-feet a year or with 70 GPM capacity), with monthly self-reported totalizer readings within 10 days of the reading. The State's separate meter requirement is on hold in Southwest Kings territory under the August 12, 2026 court order.

Do I report in GEARS and pay the State fee?

Under the August 12, 2026 order, as the State Water Board's Tulare Lake updates page describes it, pumpers in Southwest Kings GSA territory "are not required to install meters, report extractions, or pay fees at this time." The case is pending; check the Board's page before February 1, 2027.

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