DWR Nearly Invests $1.9 Million in Infrastructure Along Friant-Kern Canal by Friant Water Authority Oct 21, 2026 Member Submitted News LINDSAY — Friant Water Authority (FWA) recognizes the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) for its nearly $1.9 million investment in new monitoring infrastructure along the Friant-Kern Canal to strengthen real-time subsidence monitoring and help protect the canal’s long-term capacity and reliability. With work completed in September, the effort includes three continuous GPS (cGPS) stations near Mileposts 98, 103 and 112, along with complementary multi-completion monitoring wells near Mileposts 103 and 112. The cGPS stations measure changes in land surface elevation over time with millimeter-level precision, allowing DWR and FWA to track whether the ground surrounding the canal is sinking. The multi-completion monitoring wells complement that information by measuring groundwater pressure, or hydraulic head, at several isolated depths within the aquifer system. Together, the monitoring systems can help identify not only where subsidence is occurring, but also the depths at which groundwater pressure changes may be contributing to it. Data collected from the new infrastructure will allow DWR and FWA to continue building a better understanding of how groundwater pumping, recharge and changing hydrologic conditions influence subsidence trends along the Friant-Kern Canal. This monitoring is particularly important through areas of the canal that continue to experience significant subsidence and where substantial investments have been made to restore lost conveyance capacity. “The continuous GPS stations and multi-completion monitoring wells provided by DWR are a significant asset as we work to protect the Friant-Kern Canal from continued subsidence due to groundwater pumping, particularly through the Middle Reach,” said Katie Duncan, Senior Water Resources Engineer for Friant Water Authority. “This investment will provide real-time monitoring of land surface elevation coupled with critical groundwater head measurements, giving us important data to better understand subsidence trends and support meaningful groundwater management decisions and local policies that protect the long-term reliability of the Friant-Kern Canal.” DWR invested approximately $675,000 in the three cGPS stations and approximately $1.2 million in the two monitoring wells. The equipment was fully funded by DWR through the Sustainable Groundwater Management Office’s Technical Assistance Program and is owned by DWR. The nearly $1.9 million investment does not include additional staff time dedicated to project planning and coordination or future data collection. FWA especially recognizes DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Office, Steven Springhorn and his team for their work and coordination throughout the project, as well as Tad Bedegrew for his significant assistance in advancing the effort. The monitoring data will be publicly available through DWR’s SGMA Data Viewer, providing an additional resource for tracking land surface elevation and groundwater conditions along the canal. The Friant-Kern Canal is a critical component of the Central Valley Project, delivering water throughout the eastern San Joaquin Valley to irrigation districts, communities and thousands of family farms. Continued monitoring and management of subsidence is essential to protecting the canal’s ability to reliably convey water for generations to come.
