Groundwater & Rules · In brief
The Basin's $22.90 Fee, and Why Household Wells Skip It
The Paso Robles groundwater authority fee is $22.90 per acre-foot of consumed groundwater for fiscal 2026-27; rural household pumpers are not charged.
By the Ranch House Water desk · Updated · 3 min read
The Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority adopted a groundwater fee on May 27, 2026, for fiscal year 2026-27, set at $22.90 for each acre-foot of groundwater consumed. It funds a budget of $1,095,446 and is collected on the property tax roll. A home on its own well, using water for the household alone, does not pay it.
Who pays and who does not
The fee is charged on groundwater that is consumed, and in this basin most pumping is for crops: agriculture accounted for 91 percent of it in water year 2025, according to the annual report. The authority's May 2026 fee study says in so many words that rural household pumpers are exempt from the charge. That group is anyone drawing no more than 2 acre-feet in a year, for home use only, and estimates their use at about 2 percent of the basin's total consumptive use.
If your well also irrigates a commercial crop, the household exemption does not cover that water. Where that line falls, and what still applies to small pumpers, is set out in household wells and the basin rules, including county meters on new buildings.
Why a fee now
The basin is critically overdrafted and must reach balance by 2040, and the plan has to be paid for. The authority's first attempt failed: at an August 1, 2025 hearing it counted 738 protests against 642 needed for a majority, out of 1,281 eligible parcels, which blocked the fee under Proposition 218.
The authority has warned that without funding the state could step in to run the basin, write its own plan, set fees and require pumping reports. The basin is not under that kind of state action today. For the larger picture, read the Paso Robles groundwater basin.
Common questions
How will I know if I am being charged?
The fee is collected on the property tax roll. If a groundwater line appears on the bill for a parcel whose well serves only a household, ask the authority.
Does the fee apply in San Miguel?
San Miguel's community services district runs its own groundwater agency, which stayed out when the authority formed. Check with the district about parcels in its area.
Sources
- Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority — FY 2026-27 Rate and Fee Study — rate, adoption date, budget, tax roll
- Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority — Rate and Fee Study report, May 2026 — household pumpers not charged, definition, 2 percent share
- Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority — August 1, 2025 hearing update — the failed 2025 fee
- Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority — FY 2025-26 Cost of Service Study — risk of state intervention
- Paso Robles Subbasin Water Year 2025 Annual Report — agriculture share of pumping