The District was created in May of 1919 to provide irrigation water to agricultural lands within its boundaries. The District has a gross acreage of approximately 48,500 acres, which includes active agriculture, rural residences and reservoirs. The District’s assessed acreage is approximately 43,900 acres, of which approximately 40,000 acres is irrigable agriculture. 

The District is located in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California. It surrounds the City of Corcoran in southeastern Kings County.  Irrigation facilities within the District include approximately 118 miles of canals and 2 miles of pipeline. The District operates five reservoirs with a total capacity of approximately 12,000 acre feet. These reservoirs are located at the northerly end of the district and are used to provide operational storage and delivery flexibility. The District is located within the Northeast portion of the historic Tulare Lake Bed region. 

The topography of the District slopes gradually in a southwesterly direction from the District’s outer northeasterly boundary towards the lowest region in the Tulare Lake Bed which is just west of the District boundary. The lowest region within the Tulare Lake Bed is approximately 173 feet above mean sea level (MSL) and the elevation in the most northeasterly portion of the District is approximately 227 feet above MSL. 

The City of Corcoran is at an approximate elevation of 205 MSL. The generally flat terrain has an average north-south slope of about 1.8 feet per mile and an east-west average slope of approximately 2.8 feet per mile. The District abuts the “closed” Tulare Lake Bed which has no natural outlet. It is important to note that no natural outflow from the historic Tulare Lake has occurred since the late 1870’s. This is a result of the upstream diversions on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley from the Kings, Kaweah, Tule Rivers and the Kern River to the south. It is also a result of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control projects on the tributaries.