Drought Archives - Page 2 of 11

High tech snow flights to cover most of California’s watersheds this year

December 11, 2022

• by Lois Henry

You probably didn’t notice a twin-engine prop plane loaded with high-tech equipment circling 23,000 feet over the San Joaquin Valley’s upper watersheds this fall. But it was there, gathering information about those watersheds in their “snow off” condition. That detailed information will be vital to multiple follow up flights of Airborne Snow Observatories, Inc. (ASO)…

Drinking Water • Drought

Prolonged drought creates tsunami of dry wells in San Joaquin Valley

December 6, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A wave of dry wells has hit the San Joaquin Valley hard this year putting the valley on track to see the most dry wells since the state began tracking that information in 2013. And while wells have dried up throughout the state, the valley is the epicenter of dry wells. As of the end…

Drought

State kicks off water year with anticipated 5% allocation

December 1, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The state Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced Dec. 1 that it would provide 5% of contracted amounts across the board for agricultural and municipal customers in 2023. That may sound bad, but the initial allocation announced for 2022 was 0% for ag and only enough water for municipal contractors to protect health and safety….

Drought

State drought funding will help valley communities fix water problems faster

November 30, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A handful of small valley communities will be able to move more rapidly on water projects thanks to millions in funding recently allocated by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) as part of its water resilience program. DWR awarded $86 million throughout the state. About $44 million of that will go to small communities…

Drinking Water • Drought

State bails out Coalinga for water costs

November 3, 2022

• by SJV Water

The City of Coalinga got word Nov. 2 that the Department of Water Resources would pick up the entire $1.2 million tab for supplemental water the city was forced to buy after drought cut its federal supplies to the bone. DWR press release below: DWR Provides Funding to City of Coalinga for Emergency Water Purchase State…

Drought • Federal System • Groundwater • Personalities • SGMA

Change is coming to the Westlands Water District board. What will it mean for the future of the sprawling district and its controversial general manager?

October 27, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The makeup of the Westlands Water District board will change this election – shifting power to a coalition of growers with a list of new actions, at the top of which appears to be ousting longtime General Manager Tom Birmingham. “There needs to be a change of leadership, that’s a foundational issue,” said Sarah Woolf,…

Drought

Coalinga to keep taps flowing but at a hefty price – nearly $2,000 an acre foot

October 27, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The City of Coalinga is shelling out $1.138 million to keep taps flowing this year. The city finally found water it could afford and is buying 600 acre feet of water from Patterson Irrigation District at about $1,900 per acre foot. The deal was finalized and announced Oct. 26. The water was desperately needed as…

Drought • Policy • SGMA

VIDEO: Frustrated San Joaquin Valley farmers take grievances to Sacramento

October 27, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A group of farmers, mostly from Madera, protested on the steps of the capitol in Sacramento against what they feel has been extreme mismanagement of the state’s water resources. The protest comes as groundwater managers in the Madera subbasin are wrestling with how to adhere to a state mandate to bring its aquifer back into…

Drought • Rivers

Putah Creek’s experience suggests getting water back in the Kern River could be a “slam dunk”

October 22, 2022

• by Lois Henry

If water rights on the Kern River were challenged in a public trust lawsuit, those rights would lose water, according to a legal expert on the public trust doctrine. Even when water rights go back more than 100 years, which is the case on the Kern River, the public trust doctrine holds sway. “It’s not…

Drinking Water • Drought

Water debt doubles for residents of tiny, impoverished west Fresno County towns

October 20, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Water debt has ballooned to nearly double what it was last year in Cantua Creek and El Porvenir, two small towns in western Fresno County where nearly half the residents live in poverty. The towns were supposed to be getting water from two new wells by now but the project hasn’t been completed so they’ve…

NEWS

High tech snow flights to cover most of California’s watersheds this year

Prolonged drought creates tsunami of dry wells in San Joaquin Valley

State kicks off water year with anticipated 5% allocation

State drought funding will help valley communities fix water problems faster

State bails out Coalinga for water costs

Change is coming to the Westlands Water District board. What will it mean for the future of the sprawling district and its controversial general manager?

Coalinga to keep taps flowing but at a hefty price – nearly $2,000 an acre foot

VIDEO: Frustrated San Joaquin Valley farmers take grievances to Sacramento

Putah Creek’s experience suggests getting water back in the Kern River could be a “slam dunk”

Water debt doubles for residents of tiny, impoverished west Fresno County towns

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