California Water Views

On March 12, 2026, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued a bulletin announcing that the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Water Board) Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) reporting system is now open. That system is called the Groundwater Extraction Annual Reporting System (GEARS) and is available online. The deadline for the initial submission of groundwater extraction reports is May 1, 2026. The reporting requirements only apply to groundwater extractors in the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins, as those are the only two basins currently under probation.

Background

Under SGMA, extractors are generally required to form local agencies called Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs). Those GSAs were required to submit plans (called groundwater sustainability plans [GSPs]) on how they would manage groundwater sustainably in their areas. DWR was then responsible for evaluating those GSPs. If DWR found them inadequate, the State Water Board then evaluated whether it was proper to place the subbasins covered by those GSPs into probation. If a basin is put into probation, State takes a more active role in managing it. Part of that management can include mandatory extraction reporting to the State Water Board.

Currently, there are two subbasins in probation – Tulare Lake (as of April 16, 2024) and Tule (as of September 17, 2024).

Upcoming Deadlines

Correspondence IDs

The State Water Board mailed letters to all groundwater extractors in the Tule and Tulare Lake subbasins. Those letters included Correspondence IDs, which are unique identification numbers for each extractor and are required for reporting through GEARS. If you are a groundwater extractor in either of the relevant subbasins and have not received your Correspondence ID, DWR’s bulletin sets a March 18, 2026 deadline for contacting State Water Board Staff (via sgma@waterboards.ca.gov). It appears that you cannot submit your reporting via GEARS without a Correspondence ID.

GEARS Training

The State Water Board will be hosting a training and question-and-answer session on GEARS on March 26, 2024 from 2 – 4:30 pm. Interested parties can sign up here and see the agenda here.

State Water Board Hearing

The State Water Board issued notices (for Tule and Tulare Lake) for a hearing on April 7, 2026. As detailed in the draft resolutions (for Tule and Tulare Lake), the focus of the hearing will be whether to treat any individuals who extract 20 acre-feet or less as exempt from reporting. Although otherwise identical, the Tule Subbasin notice also includes the requirement that wells must be at least two miles from the Friant-Kern Canal to qualify for the exemption it is considering.

Interested parties are able to submit public comment. Parties can submit written comments, which are due at 12:00 pm (noon) on March 30, 2026. Parties can also request to speak in person at the hearing, and the ability to submit that request ends “a few days prior to the Board meeting” according to the notices.

Reporting

As above, all non-exempt extractors must submit their reporting via GEARS by May 1, 2026.

Reporting Details

All extractors are required to submit their groundwater extraction reports via GEARS unless otherwise exempted. In addition to the exemption that will be considered at the April 7, 2026 hearing, the State Water Board provided for two additional exemptions. The first is a de minimis exemption that applies to “Pumpers who extract two acre-feet or less per year for domestic purposes only”. The second is for pumpers in the Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District GSA or Kern-Tulare Water District GSA in the Tule Subbasin, as long as the pumpers comply with those GSA’s requirements. Extractors who qualify as exempt must enter the relevant information into GEARS to obtain their exempt status.

Extractors are also required to pay fees along with their reporting. The State Water Board provides significant detail on the fee process, including details on the ability to obtain a fee waiver. DWR’s bulletin highlights the following groups as ones that may be eligible for a fee waiver: “Low-income residents, water systems serving disadvantaged communities, and public schools”. In order to qualify for a waiver, on top of the other requirements, extractors must meet the May 1, 2026 reporting deadline.

The State Water Board also provides a GEARS Resources page (with a substantial number of training videos) and a GEARS User Guide to assist extractors in reporting.