Kings County Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter shall be known as, and may be referred to as, the Kings County Groundwater Export Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 706, § 2, 11-29-22)

(a) This chapter is enacted in addition to, and not a limitation on, the authority granted to any GSA or other special districts established for or otherwise engaged in the acquisition, storage, conveyance, or provision of water to the people of the county. No permit issued under this chapter shall prevent a GSA from requiring more restrictive limitations on groundwater extractions in their management area through its GSP.

(b) The county may rely on findings by a GSA located all or partially within the county concerning the extraction of groundwater from within their jurisdiction as evidence that this chapter has been violated.

(Ord. No. 706, § 2, 11-29-22)

(a) The following terms shall have the same meaning as in Water Code section 10721:

(1) Basin.

(2) Groundwater sustainability agency (GSA).

(3) Groundwater sustainability plan (GSP).

(4) Undesirable result.

(5) Water year.

(b) The following terms shall have the same meaning as those found in Water Code section 10752:

(1) Groundwater management plan (GMP).

(c) The following terms shall have the same meaning as those found in Water Code section 37900: [1]

(1) Aquifer.

(2) Conjunctive use.

(3) Extraction.

(4) Overdraft.

(d) The following terms shall have the same meaning as in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Dictionary of Water Terms:

(1) Percolation.

(2) Permeability.

(3) Piezometric/potentiometric surface.

(4) Porosity.

(5) Subsidence.

(6) Transmissibility.

(7) Water table.

(8) Yield.

(e) The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:

Applicant means a person or entity applying for a permit under the provisions of this chapter.

Board means the Kings County Board of Supervisors.

CEQA means the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code division 13 (§§ 21000-21189.70.10), and includes any state rules or regulations promulgated under it and any case law interpreting it.

Clerk means the clerk of the board of supervisors.

Commission means the Kings County Water Resources Oversight Commission.

County means the County of Kings.

County water agency means the agency or department designated by the Board to have primary enforcement authority of the provisions of this chapter.

Director means the director of the county water agency, or their designee.

Export means the transportation of groundwater from within the county to any location outside of the county by pipe, canal, stream, river, or other conveyance method.

Groundwater Management Act means Water Code division 6, part 2.75 (§§ 10750—10755.4), and includes any state rules or regulations promulgated under it and any case law interpreting it.

Historical practices means the consistent or predominant practice of an applicant or local agency within seven years preceding the operative date of this chapter.

Hydraulic gradient means the difference in hydraulic head at two points, divided by the distance between the points measured along the path of flow.

Hydrology means the origin, distribution, and circulation of water through precipitation, stream flow, infiltration, groundwater storage, and evaporation.

Local agency means any public agency, including an incorporated city, wholly or in part located within the boundaries of the county, which is a purveyor of waters for agricultural, domestic, or municipal use.

Recharge and groundwater recharge both mean flow to groundwater storage from precipitation, irrigation, infiltration from streams, spreading basins and other sources of water including recycled water.

Safe yield and sustainable yield both mean the maximum quantity of water, which can be withdrawn annually from a groundwater supply under a given set of conditions without causing overdraft or adverse water quality conditions.

Specifically safe yield is the amount of water which can be withdrawn without:

(1) Exceeding in any water year the long-term mean annual water supply of the basin (considering all sources of recharge and withdrawal);

(2) Lowering water levels so as to make further drilling of water wells uneconomical;

(3) Violating water rights or restrictions in pumpage in the groundwater basin as established by court adjudication or applications of state or federal law, including any GSP;

(4) Producing other environmental damage.

Specific capacity means the volume of water pumped from a well in gallons per minute per foot of drawdown.

Spreading water means discharging water to a permeable area for the purpose of allowing it to percolate to the zone of saturation. Spreading, artificial recharge and replenishment all refer to operations used to place water in a groundwater table.

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and SGMA mean the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014, as codified in Water Code division 6, part 2.74 (§§ 10720—10737.8), and includes any state rules or regulations promulgated under it and any case law interpreting it.

Tailwater means water running off the lower end of a field as part of normal irrigation practices.

Usable storage capacity means the quantity of groundwater of acceptable quality that can be economically withdrawn from storage.

Water Well Drillers' Report means the report required by Water Code section 13751.

Zone of saturation means the area below the water table in which the soil is completely saturated with groundwater.

(Ord. No. 706, § 2, 11-29-22)

Footnotes:

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Note— By incorporating these definitions, the board does not intend to incorporate into this chapter any portion of Water Code division 13, part 8.2 beyond the definitions specifically identified in this section.