NEWS

An investment analysis that looked at how much it would cost water users to build and operate the proposed Temperance Flat Dam northeast of Fresno without government funding was finished earlier this year and quietly passed among water districts, which just as quietly asked the federal government to shelve work on the project. A small…
Reclamation press release: SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Following spring storms, the Bureau of Reclamation today issued updated allocations for Central Valley Project contractors for the 2020 contract year. “Thanks to April precipitation showing a sizeable water supply improvement for the American River watershed, Reclamation is pleased to announce this increased allocation for CVP water contractors south-of-the Delta,”…
The U.S. District Court of Eastern California on Monday issued a preliminary injunction against a portion of the new federal biological opinions governing operations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. From now through May 31, 2020, the court order states, the Bureau of Reclamation must adhere to the 2009 biological opinions as they relate to the…
Is the State Water Project’s extremely low water allocation based on California’s fickle climate? Or politics? A growing chorus of frustrated water managers are wondering. After a dry January, the Department of Water Resources announced it would only be able to deliver 15 percent of contracted water amounts to farms and cities. That number hasn’t…
by Lois Henry
A new set of water regulations aimed at protecting California’s native fish came down from the state earlier this week to near universal condemnation from both agricultural and environmental water folks. The regulations are contained in a 143-page “incidental take permit” issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife that lays out when  — and…
NEWS RELEASE SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Today, the Bureau of Reclamation updated the water supply allocation for Friant Division Central Valley Project contracts for the 2020 contract year. The Friant Division provides water for 15,000 family farms and several cities in the Central Valley. Initial allocations were made on February 25, 2020. Reclamation considered many factors…
by Lois Henry
The James Irrigation District in western Fresno County has sued the Westlands Water District over its plan to let farmers pump salty groundwater into the Mendota Pool in exchange for water from the San Luis Reservoir. The lawsuit could scuttle Westlands’ plans to create a certain supply for its farmers as they, and farmers throughout…
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