State's proposed groundwater pumping fees doesn't go over well

The state Water Resources Control Board reversed course on a proposed fee change for groundwater extraction in the San Joaquin Valley after receiving a number of negative letters saying changes are “premature.”

The update came during an online Water Rights Fees meeting on July 31. Fees target pumpers in overdrafted subbasins placed on probation by the Water Board for lacking adequate groundwater plans.

State fees – $300 per well, per year plus $20-per-acre-foot pumped – are intended to repay the state an estimated $5.5 million a year it says it costs to oversee six groundwater basins in the San Joaquin Valley where plans have been deemed inadequate.

Water Board staff had suggested creating a graduated fee structure based on farm size, giving small growers a break at $5-per-acre-foot