The Biola Community Services District’s 6-acre groundwater recharge basin was built to capture surface water delivered from Fresno Irrigation District’s Herndon Canal. The July 22 first delivery marked the operational completion of the Biola Groundwater Recharge Project in northwest Fresno County. (Courtesy of North Kings GSA)
published on July 27, 2026 – 1:51 PM
Written by Emi Obrero
The first delivery of surface water from Fresno Irrigation District’s Herndon Canal into the Biola Community Services District’s 6-acre groundwater recharge basin was made July 22, marking the operational completion of the Biola Groundwater Recharge Project.
The project aims to bring groundwater sustainability to Biola, a groundwater-dependent disadvantaged community in northwest Fresno County. Biola CSD may be the first to reach that milestone in a critically overdrafted groundwater basin as defined by the California Department of Water Resources, according to a news release.
The project’s infrastructure, completed in 2024, includes a new turnout connecting the Herndon Canal to the basin and provides approximately 30 acre-feet of storage capacity. The improvements allow Biola CSD to capture available surface water, replenish the local aquifer and offset groundwater pumping under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
“This project represents years of planning and collaboration,” said Carmen Zamora, general manager of Biola CSD. “For a small community like Biola, having the ability to recharge groundwater with surface water is a tremendous investment in our water resilient future.”
The project was funded by the California Department of Water Resources and Fresno County, along with partnerships between Biola CSD, Fresno Irrigation District, the North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency and local and regional stakeholders, according to the release.
“Projects like this show what can be accomplished when agencies work together toward a common goal,” said Kassy Chauhan, executive officer of North Kings GSA. “Every successful recharge project strengthens local groundwater supplies and helps our region move closer to achieving long-term groundwater sustainability under SGMA.”
The community is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Biola CSD and project partners at 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 29. The event will take place at the basin in the Biola community, at North 4th Street and West H Street in Kerman.