In 2014 the State of California adopted historic legislation, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which requires groundwater basins to be sustainably managed by 2040.
SGMA required that high and medium priority groundwater basins form Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) by June 2017 and develop Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) to sustainably manage groundwater. North Kern Water Storage District (NKWSD) initially participated as a member of the Kern Groundwater Authority (KGA) GSA and eventually established the NKWSD GSA in 2022 and withdrawing from the KGA. Additionally, NKWSD GSA executed a Memorandum of Understanding with three other neighboring water districts to enhance regional coordination that included the City of Shafter and City of Wasco. The District through the NKWSD GSA coordinates directly with the other Kern County Groundwater Subbasin GSAs to develop, amend, and implement the Kern Subbasin GSP.
