English | Español

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin-in Instagram
Login
Donate

NEWS

Kern River run off predicted to be downright miserly

• by Lois Henry
Kern River watershed watcher Scott Williams put out what will be his final Kern River Snow and Water Report May 3 and the news was grim. The predicted run off for the Kern River has dwindled from an already meager 33% of normal last month to a downright miserly 28% of normal this month. The…
Read More
•

SJV communities get state cash to plug leaks

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
An infusion of state cash will plug several leaky drinking water systems that serve rural communities in the San Joaquin Valley in the near future. The money, $22 million, comes from the Small Community Drought Relief Program under the Department of Water Resources (DWR). That money will fund 17 projects throughout the state, with about…
Read More

Third year of drought pushes price of water to $2,000 an acre foot

• by Lois Henry
A sale of agricultural water within the Panoche Water District on the upper west side of the San Joaquin Valley hit the eye-popping price of $2,000 per acre foot recently. The buyer bought 668 acre feet in a deal that was brokered by Nat DiBuduo with Alliance Ag Services. The buyer, whose name was withheld,…
Read More
•

How low will it go? Kern agencies worry one district setting groundwater levels too far down

• by Lois Henry
Kern County agricultural water districts are giving major side-eye to one of their own over what’s known as “minimum threshold” groundwater levels The grumbling is aimed at the sprawling Semitropic Water Storage District in northwest Kern, where minimum thresholds are set, in some cases, at levels that would allow farmers to pump down the water…
Read More
•

Gov. Newsom’s drought order brings ag well activity to a standstill in some areas

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Valley groundwater agencies are mired in confusion and concern over Gov. Newsom’s March 28 executive drought order, which added new steps for permitting agricultural wells, according to agencies’ staff.  As groundwater agency managers scramble to hash out exactly how to comply with the order, well permits in some areas are stuck in limbo leaving well…
Read More

Kern River snow watcher’s report shows below average year

• by Lois Henry
Amateur, but thorough, snow watcher Scott Williams released his monthly “Kern River Snow and Water Report” April 2 and the news is subpar. Annual runoff from the watershed is anticipated to be 33% of average this year based on the paltry snow pack left following the significantly dry January, February and March months. Williams compiles…
Read More

Gov. Newsom’s drought order aims to slow ag well drilling

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
New wells for agriculture will be more difficult to drill in the San Joaquin Valley under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order in response to the ongoing drought. Part of the order prohibits new wells from being drilled without approval from local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA) first. The GSAs must determine that new wells or…
Read More
•

Feds not giving “fair share” of water to all contractors, some say

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
In California’s byzantine water world, some water districts are, apparently, more equal than others, to paraphrase George Orwell. That appears to be the case in the federally operated Central Valley Project, particularly when it comes to two main sets of water districts: the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors and the Friant Contractors. On Feb. 27,…
Read More

Skimpy state snowpack points to another long, dry summer

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted its third snow survey of the season and the outlook is not good for the state’s water users. The survey recorded 35 inches of snow at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada mountains below Lake Tahoe. That’s about 68% of average for this time of year. Statewide, snowpack…
Read More
Receive Notifications

Enter your email address to receive INSTANT ALERTS of new articles.

NEWS SEARCH
Water Resources

Maven’s Notebook is an excellent daily accounting of California water happenings statewide.

Visit Site