NEWS

by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting trainee
Water has become a major roadblock to desperately needed housing in rural communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Water scarcity and lack of infrastructure has scared off developers just when housing is most needed, according to officials and nonprofits that work on both water and housing. “The lack of development interest has a lot to…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting trainee
Kettleman City, a popular stop for travelers on Interstate 5 with its host of gas stations and fast food joints, is on the brink of going dry. If that happens, those businesses could shut down. Lawmakers and others are trying to work out a fix but so far, things are moving slowly. “If they don’t…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
Phones were ringing practically non-stop at Self-Help Enterprises toward the end of this summer with valley residents all calling about the same problem: Their wells had gone dry. Employees were fielding 100s of calls a month from people whose wells had dried up, Marliez Diaz wrote in an email. Diaz is a water sustainability manager…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
Water transfers, trades and sales doubled this year as drought left San Joaquin Valley farmers scrambling for supplies. “This has been kind of an exceptional year for transfers,” said Sam Boland-Brien, program manager at the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights. Boland-Brien said he’s seen about twice the amount of transfers this…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
This story was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is encouraged 48 hours after initial posting. The longer it takes for two new wells to be dug in Cantua Creek and El Porvenir in western Fresno County, the deeper in debt the towns are mired. Now, with the drought, those well projects are…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
This story was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is encouraged 48 hours after initial posting.     Life in Tooleville wasn’t easy before the latest drought. Residents of this tiny, two-road farmworker community, tucked into the edge of the Sierra Nevada foothills in eastern Tulare County, have been living on bottled water…
by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry
This story was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is encouraged 48 hours after initial posting.   A lot has happened over the past five years, but not much has changed in the tiny farmworker town of Okieville. Wells went dry enmasse in Tulare County, including in Okieville, during the last…
This story was reported and written by Jesse Vad, SJV Water intern and Lois Henry, SJV Water CEO. It was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is allowed 48 hours after initial posting.  The state’s response to the water crisis that gripped tiny Teviston, California earlier this summer should…
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