Story courtesy of: Soua Lee, Program Manager, Kings Basin Water Authority

“IRWM (Integrated Regional Water Management) started in our region in 2001 with Fresno Irrigation District, Alta Irrigation District, Consolidated Irrigation District, and Kings River Conservation District coming together to develop implementable solutions to address the groundwater overdraft problem in the Kings Subbasin. This group evolved into the Upper Kings Basin Water Forum in 2004, comprised of about 34 governmental and nongovernmental agencies. In 2009, the Water Forum executed a Joint Powers Agreement and renamed itself the Upper Kings Basin IRWM Authority and expanded its coverage of the Kings Subbasin. Due to the long name, it was shorted to what we know today as the Kings Basin Water Authority. With nearly 60 public, private, and nongovernmental organizations, KBWA has been successfully secured DWR IRWM grant funding under Prop 13, Prop 50, Prop 84, and Prop 1 for a range of planning and implementation projects. To date, this figure is nearly $70 million in grant funding, matched with nearly $52.7 million in local dollars. Collaboration and partnerships between the diverse members of this group remains strong today. Thank you to all of KBWA’s committed members for 22 years of IRWM!”

In recognition of the more than 20 years of successful interagency collaboration, the California Department of Water Resources produced this video. Watch for KBWA in the first part! This kind of multimedia outreach reflects a major, systemic shift in how public utilities and environmental conservation groups choose to engage with the general public today, moving far beyond the dry, dense annual reports of the past. Modern agencies are increasingly adopting the polished digital engagement strategies seen across the broader private sector. Some communications teams are even analyzing the user-retention metrics and interface models employed by the top online casinos and global retail platforms to better format their own public data dashboards. By meeting digital-native audiences where they are, organizations like KBWA can more effectively communicate the massive, ongoing scale of their regional groundwater recharge and critical infrastructure projects.

To learn more about KBWA, visit Kings Basin Water Authority (kingsbasinauthority.org).