Drought Archives - Page 10 of 11

Drought

California’s mountains are dry. Now we know how dry

June 2, 2021

• by Lois Henry

In a pitifully dry year like 2021, understanding the state’s skimpy snowpack is critical. Multi-million dollar decisions can hinge on even the smallest amounts of snow melt squeezed out of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Which makes information provided by Airborne Snow Observatories, Inc. flights vital, according to water managers. “Right now, there’s still 10,000 to…

Drought driving up water prices

May 28, 2021

• by Lois Henry

If you were looking for some bargain priced water this year, you’re out of luck. “We got out of the market when we started seeing prices north of $900 an acre foot,” said Jason Gianquinto, General Manager of Semitropic Water Storage District in western Kern County. “That’s just too much for us. We had some…

Drought • Friant-Kern Canal

Dry conditions could cut Friant water to zero in a replay of 2014-2015 drought

May 28, 2021

• by Lois Henry

Farms and towns in the south San Joaquin Valley that rely on water from Millerton Lake north of Fresno are anxiously waiting to hear if they will be cut to zero again this year. That happened in 2014 and again in 2015 when that prolonged drought was so bad the Bureau of Reclamation couldn’t deliver…

Drought • Federal System • Groundwater • Personalities

Will climate change alter water rights?

May 27, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

The specter of climate change isn’t just impacting weather, it could also change California water rights, according to experts who spoke at this year’s annual Water Summit put on by the Water Association of Kern County. The May 25 virtual event included a host of experts who caught attendees up on the latest information about…

Drinking Water • Drought

Valley wells already going dry as drought settles in

May 27, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Dry wells are starting to crop up throughout California’s San Joaquin Valley as the 2021 drought digs in. And as the parched state barrels toward summer, the risk of more wells going dry is increasing. For some, that possibility is already a scary reality. Misty Vasquez was at work in December, when her husband called…

Conservation • Drought • Federal System • Rivers • State System • Water Banking

Virtual Water Summit – May 25

April 20, 2021

• by Lois Henry

The Water Association of Kern County’s annual Water Summit is virtual this year but will still pack a punch of who’s who in the water world. The day kicks off with an update on water brought to the San Joaquin Valley via the federal Central Valley Project. The speaker will be Deputy Bureau of Reclamation…

Conservation • Drinking Water • Drought • Groundwater

Students find saving water “elementary”

March 16, 2021

• by Lois Henry

When a region’s groundwater is critically depleted and its dirt as hard as a frying pan, how do you refill the aquifer? Ask a fifth grader. Actually, ask the fifth and sixth grade combination class at Bakersfield’s Munsey Elementary School taught by Barbara Elrod. Elrod’s students discovered a pretty cool way to both conserve water…

Drought • Groundwater • State System

Valley groundwater may get (small) slice of state’s $15 billion surplus

January 13, 2021

• by Lois Henry

The Governor’s proposal for how to spend California’s $15 billion surplus includes $60 million in direct grants to help replenish groundwater in the valley’s most depleted basins. The measure specifies the money is to be used in “critically over-drafted basins,” which lie mostly in the San Joaquin Valley. Water managers were pleasantly surprised, but not…

Drought • Rivers

Historic move: Fresno River rights to be decided

October 30, 2020

• by Lois Henry

If all you’ve ever seen of the Fresno River is through Madera as you drive over it on Highway 99, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s just a weed-infested, shopping cart collector rather than a real river. But there’s a lot to this unobtrusive waterway, which just made history as the first river in 40…

Drought • Groundwater

Groundwater: The charge to recharge needs to be data driven

May 14, 2020

• by Lois Henry

In the world of groundwater recharge, not all dirt is created equal. Where, when, how much and how fast water can best be recharged into the Central Valley’s severely depleted aquifers has become a critical question. A new tool aims to help answer those questions at the field-by-field level or up to an entire county….

NEWS

California’s mountains are dry. Now we know how dry

Drought driving up water prices

Dry conditions could cut Friant water to zero in a replay of 2014-2015 drought

Will climate change alter water rights?

Valley wells already going dry as drought settles in

Virtual Water Summit – May 25

Students find saving water “elementary”

Valley groundwater may get (small) slice of state’s $15 billion surplus

Historic move: Fresno River rights to be decided

Groundwater: The charge to recharge needs to be data driven

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