The Kaweah Subbasin now begins the transition back to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) after over two years fighting the risk of probation under the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). The State Water Board adopted a resolution at its December 2, 2025 meeting, making the transition official.

“This is the fruit of all our labor after years of revising our groundwater plans, coordinating as a subbasin, and continued stakeholder engagement,” said East Kaweah GSA Executive Director Michael Hagman. “It wouldn’t have been possible without all hands on deck.”

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) was designed with local control at the forefront, meaning local agencies are empowered by the law to achieve sustainable groundwater supplies themselves, as opposed to being directed by a statewide one-size-fits all approach. But the State Water Board is the backstop – it can intervene to regulate groundwater directly by putting the subbasin on “probation” if it feels local management fails to adequately implement the law.

In 2023 when the Kaweah Subbasin received notice its Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs or Plans) were not approved, “State Intervention” was initiated, putting the subbasin under the State Water Board’s jurisdiction and at risk of probation.

After this notice, the subbasin immediately initiated a regular meeting schedule across technical teams, ramped up subbasin coordination efforts, and started the GSP revision process to avoid probation. Probation triggers additional mandatory groundwater pumping reporting, administrative fees, potential well-metering requirements, and volumetric extraction fees that all go directly back to the State. With local groundwater management, GSAs use any locally assessed fees and reporting measures for local benefit, driving local projects and services that help drive sustainability forward.

The transition back to DWR means the subbasin’s three Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) can continue with local groundwater management, led by their Boards of Directors made up of growers and community leaders who live and have a stake in the success of the region’s ability to address SGMA requirements, all while balancing the needs of the community.

“Getting here has taken tremendous work, investment, and perseverance. The journey has been challenging, and there are still hard days ahead as we correct groundwater overdraft. It will not be easy by any means. But protecting our ability to manage groundwater locally is absolutely worth it,” said Hagman.

In the months following the notice that the GSPs were not approved, the subbasin was given a probationary hearing date, where GSAs hear from the State Water Board whether they will move to probation based on a more detailed review of their Plans.

GSAs that have been put on probation face challenges maintaining forward momentum on SGMA implementation, as working your way out of probation while still implementing and staying on track with sustainability targets is a heavy lift.

“Avoiding those consequences of State control created a powerful incentive to produce a technically sound, comprehensive, and timely revision to the subbasin’s groundwater plans,” said Kaitlin Palys, Senior Water Resources Scientist at INTERA who was hired by East Kaweah GSA to support and coordinate the revisions process.

With these stakes in mind, the Kaweah Subbasin began a two-year journey of GSP revisions and regular meetings with the State Water Board to understand how best to address deficiencies in the GSPs.

“The revision period was collaborative, intensive, highly iterative, and transparent,” said Palys.

Palys said the revision schedule was largely driven by the State Water Board’s deadlines, which set an ambitious pace. Conversations with stakeholders who would be directly affected by potential probation were a constant reminder that the long nights and fast turnaround were worth it.

“The whole premise of this is to have local control,” said East Kaweah GSA Board Vice Chair Craig Hornung. He is also Technical Services Director at AC-Foods and Owner of Hornung Brothers Farming.

Hornung remarked that decisions as a board member during this time were weighty.

“Trying to make the right decisions for the subbasin and for your growers is really tough sometimes. The Board is directly affected — a lot of us are growers too, and we don’t take any of these decisions lightly,” Hornung said. “But these decisions we make on water, including those on allocations and subsidence, are not going to be made by somebody out of Sacramento.”

There will be continued effort to bring all stakeholders along as East Kaweah GSA pursues sustainability. As the GSA continues to address key priorities like declining groundwater levels, groundwater quality, and land subsidence, growers will face tough decisions for their farming operations. But East Kaweah GSA strives to provide stability after many years of change and harsh correction of groundwater overdraft.

Chris Hunter, Program Manager for East Kaweah GSA, said that throughout this process he has witnessed landowners adopt new strategies for the benefit of future farming.

“It’s not just East Kaweah GSA demanding change; it’s landowners understanding they need a sustainable water supply for their own operations now and in future generations,” said Hunter.

“Many landowners have embraced the goal of sustainability and are proactive in their approach through irrigation efficiency, land repurposing, and even fallowing,” Hunter continued. “We know it’s difficult, and I witness our board members grappling with the reality of their decisions and making tough calls on their own farms. But we’re talking about the future of farming in our region.”

During the summer of 2024, the Subbasin held “State of the Subbasin” to educate stakeholders on the probationary status of the subbasin ahead of its first scheduled probationary hearing in November 2024. The probationary hearing was rescheduled to January 2025 minutes before the event started.

The Kaweah Subbasin submitted the Plans in November 2024 ahead of the rescheduled January 2025 probationary date, which was ultimately canceled so the State could more extensively review the GSP revisions.

“This felt like great news; the State had briefly reviewed the Plans, which prompted the hearing cancellation and signaled to us that our efforts were headed in the right direction. But still the waiting period continued until we heard the final word on whether the GSPs satisfied SGMA requirements,” said Hagman.

In October 2025, State Water Board staff released its recommendation to move the Kaweah Subbasin back under DWR – a a promising win after over two years of hanging in the balance between local control and probation.

Hunter said the State Water Board staff has been instrumental in the revision process, spending time with the Kaweah Subbasin technical teams to work through deficiencies.

“One of the more important results of this intervention process has been our strengthened relationships with non-government organizations,” said Hunter. “Several years ago, East Kaweah GSA set out to dedicate more time and effort to stakeholder engagement, and partnering with organizations to meet more stakeholders’ needs has been fulfilling.”

One of the revisions to the GSP included the Mitigation Plan for domestic well owners — something Hagman says was pivotal to satisfying SGMA requirements.

“We fought for local groundwater management with our stakeholders in mind. Landowners have done an incredible job of adjusting to SGMA. It’s not easy. There is work to be done as we continue to implement our Plan, but we are proud that groundwater management is staying local,” said Hagman.

East Kaweah GSA is committed to standing with its stakeholders on the journey toward sustainability. The leadership team is committed to making this as successful as possible for the landowners who live, work, and are part of this community. As always the GSA will continue communicating with transparency and timeliness so landowners can make the best decisions possible. East Kaweah GSA celebrates the milestone of achieving local control, and are committed to the same diligence and subbasin coordination that got us here until we reach sustainability — both now and for the future.