ABOUT US
The White Wolf Subbasin GSA is formed by three water districts; Arvin-Edison Water Storage District (AEWSD), Tejon-Castac Water District (TCWD), and Wheeler Ridge Maricopa Water Storage District (WRMWSD), as well as the Kern County.
The first comprehensive groundwater legislation in California history, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA), was enacted on 16 September 2014 as part of a three-bill package including Assembly Bill (AB) 1739 (Dickinson), Senate Bill (SB) 1169 (Pavley), and SB 1319 (Pavley). The legislation provides a framework for the sustainable management of groundwater by local agencies, with an emphasis on the preservation of local control. The state agencies primarily responsible for implementing SGMA are the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).
Implementation of SGMA will be phased in over several years, and the first major milestone was achieved in October 2014 with the adoption of the Basin Boundary Emergency Regulations. As directed by California Water Code (CWC) §10722.2, DWR developed these regulations to provide local agencies the opportunity to petition DWR to consider a change to existing groundwater basin boundaries. The regulations allow basin boundary modification requests to be submitted on both jurisdictional and scientific grounds. The first basin boundary modification requests were accepted by DWR between 1 January and 31 March 2016, and at certain intervals therafter coincident with the update of Bulletin 118 – California’s Groundwater.
In March 2016, TCWD, WRMWSD, and AEWSD submitted a request (“Request”) to the California Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) to subdivide the Kern County Subbasin of the San Joaquin Valley Groundwater Basin (DWR 5-22.14) into two separate subbasins: the Kern County Subbasin and the White Wolf Subbasin. The Request, which relied upon scientific evidence demonstrating that the White Wolf Fault provided a significant impediment to groundwater flow, was recommended by DWR for approval on 1 July 2016. Three public hearings were held in July 2016 to present the Draft Approved Basin Boundary Modifications. On October 18, 2016 the final Basin Boundary Modification was published and the White Wolf Subbasin was created.
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) establishes separate requirements and deadlines for groundwater basins that have been determined by DWR to be in a condition of critical overdraft. In order to facilitate SGMA implementation following the basin boundary modifications, DWR reevaluated the newly redefined basins to asses if they were subject to conditions of critical overdraft. Anticipating he final list of critically-overdrafted basins to be published in Bulletin 118 – Interim Update, late Fall of 2016, the three districts (AEWSD, TCWD, WRMWSD) and the county (Kern) submitted a letter to DWR providing data and information intended to assist DWR in its review of the groundwater conditions in the Subbasin. The information provided supported the determination that the Subbasin was not subject to conditions of critical overdraft. On December 23, 2016 DWR published their updated Bulletin 118 and the White Wolf Subbasin was no longer designated as critically-overdarfted.
On May 30, 2017 the application for the formation of the White Wolf Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency was submitted. That same day it was approved by DWR and posted on their website.
Upcoming Board Meeting
The next Regular Board meeting of the White Wolf GSA will be held Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 1 pm - click here to download the meeting agenda.
Upcoming P/MA Committee Meeting
The February P/MA Committee meeting has been cancelled. The next P/MA Committee meeting will be held Thursday March 14, 2024 at noon - click here to download the meeting agenda.
Projects and Management Actions (P/MA) Committee
Invitation to Participate in the TAC of the P/MA Committee
The GSA is working to initiate P/MAs that will support the Basin to maintain sustainability. Design and implementation of these P/MAs will require input and planning from local groundwater users, which will be facilitated by the new committee. Provided the extended time frame related to Projects that could generate water supplies, Management Actions related to demand reductions are likely to become a focus for policy changes by the GSA Board in coordination with each of the three (3) agency Boards.
The TAC will hold monthly virtual meetings that will be open to the public; all landowners, non-profit organizations, and other interested parties are encouraged to participate. Meetings will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month, with the first meeting scheduled for February 9, 2023 at noon.
STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP #4
The White Wolf GSA invites and encourages all landowners in the basin to attend! The GSA aims to educate all landowners on the state of the Basin and the implications for sustainability. The GSA will be discussing the drastically declining water level conditions in the Basin which have primarily been caused by a combination of increases in groundwater pumping, a reduction in surface water deliveries, and drought conditions. As Basin water levels decline, the GSA will begin considering initiation of Projects and/or Management Actions to achieve the Basin’s Sustainability Goal, which can be found in Chapter 18 (page 216) of the GSP. Provided the extended time frame related to Projects generating water supplies, Management Actions related to demand reductions could become a focus for policy changes by the GSA Board in coordination with each of the three (3) agency Boards. Click to view the workshop notice, the workshop agenda, and the technical presentation (click to download).
GSP
The Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) for the White Wolf Subbasin is now available. Details and links to download can be found here (click to visit GSP webpage).
STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP #3
The White Wolf GSA hosted a public stakeholder workshop on July 26, 2021. This workshop included a presentation on the current status of the basin's GSP development, including updates to the water budget, sustainability planning, proposed projects and management actions, and plan implementation elements. Click to view the workshop notice, agenda, and technical presentation (click to download).
STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP #2
The White Wolf GSA hosted a public workshop to discuss the SGMA and its implementation in the White Wolf Subbasin on October 8th, 2020. The GSA provided an overview of the SGMA process in the White Wolf Subbasin. This workshop included a presentation on the current status of the basin’s GSP development, including updates on the groundwater conditions and the proposed monitoring network. We also looked ahead into next steps for GSP development
WW Public Workshop#2 Notice & Workshop#2 Agenda
View the Stakeholder Workshop:
STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP #1
The White Wolf GSA hosted a public workshop to discuss the SGMA and its implementation in the White Wolf Subbasin on June 4th, 2019.
This workshop included a technical presentation on the current status of basin characterization including the Hydrogeological Conceptual Model (HCM), the definition of current groundwater conditions, and a water budget for historical (1995-2014) and current (2015) conditions. A copy of the technical presentation can be downloaded here (click link to download).
DATA REQUEST FORMS
The White Wolf GSA is compiling data from wells located in the White Wolf Subbasin to better classify groundwater conditions. Please fill out the below forms and submit via email at [email protected] or via mail to:
Angelica Martin, 4436 Lebec Road, Lebec, CA 93243
Data must be received by October 31, 2018 for inclusion in the draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
Data Request Form (Click to download)
STAKEHOLDER SURVEY
"The White Wolf GSA would like to learn more about stakeholders in the White Wolf Subbasin. Please fill out the below form and submit via email at [email protected] or via mail to:
Angelica Martin, 4436 Lebec Road, Lebec, CA 93243.”
Stake Holder Survey (Click to download)