Floods Archives - Page 5 of 9

Floods • Rivers

Too little or too much, there’s always controversy brewing over Kern River water

April 28, 2023

• by Lois Henry

It may seem like a no-brainer to enthusiastically allow the Kern Water Bank Authority to take up to 300,000 acre feet of flood water off the Kern River and store it underground as water managers scramble to find homes for this year’s epic runoff. But, alas, nothing is simple with water. The water bank’s April…

Floods

Kern River water heads north through flood channel but won’t hit Tulare Lake – yet

April 27, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The heavily overgrown Kern River flood channel that heads north past Highway 46 and eventually meanders into the southern end of the Tulare Lake bed is filling with water. But it’s not “flood water” and it won’t make it into Tulare Lake, said Tim Ashlock, General Manager of Buena Vista Water Storage District. The district…

Floods

Kaweah River water managers prepare for more high water as the valley heats up

April 27, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Water managers along the Kaweah River system have been frantically maintaining waterways as high flows continue chugging through the system. But even as snowmelt begins and flows increase, there isn’t a risk of flooding yet, according to state officials. The Kaweah River flows from Lake Kaweah through Terminus Dam. Below the dam, it has multiple…

dams • Floods

“Vibration” in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows

April 25, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Army Corps of Engineers will temporarily drop outflows from Isabella Dam to zero starting at midnight Wednesday so the power plant at the dam can shut down, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay. Once the power plant, run by Isabella Partners, is down, water will be routed through the dam’s gates and outflows…

Floods • Uncategorized

Kern River “orphan channel” could pose problems during the big melt

April 24, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Kern River flood channel that heads north to the old Tulare Lake bed from Highway 46 is decidedly not ready for what may become massive runoff. It’s a thicket of trees and shrubs and its banks are a weedy, trash strewn mess. But figuring out who’s in charge of clearing out that 16-mile stretch…

Floods

Who’s in charge? Agencies deal with fragmented flood response in the south San Joaquin Valley

April 20, 2023

• by SJV Water

Editors note: This story is a collaboration between SJV Water and Fresnoland, a non-profit news site in Fresno. Contributing reporters Jesse Vad, SJV Water, jesse.vad@sjvwater.org Gregory Weaver, Fresnoland, gregory@fresnoland.org Shaikh Rashad, Fresnoland, omar@fresnoland.org Residents and agencies struggle with jurisdiction in historic flood fight near the old Tulare Lake bed Flood water flowing toward the small…

Floods • Uncategorized

Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County will remain mostly dry and continue being farmed by the J.G. Boswell Company despite the coming, epic snow melt. But unlike in Kings County where Boswell has been taking heat for continuing to farm parts of the old Tulare Lake bed while others have been flooded…

Floods • Uncategorized

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

It isn’t just water that’s been barreling down the Kern River in this historic water year. Trees, shrubs, trash – even old appliances – have come swirling down the river bed, plucked out by heavy equipment and piled on the banks in massive heaps. City of Bakersfield crews, along with other agencies, worked round the…

Floods

Giant tubes helping manage massive Kern River flows

April 17, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Those highly noticeable big black tubes being placed in the Kern River at Coffee Road are the fulcrum in a full-court press by Buena Vista Water Storage District to keep as much water as possible in the county. The western Kern County agricultural water district anticipates putting as many as 25 siphon tubes over what’s…

Floods • Uncategorized

The Tule River watershed remains a wild card in a wild water year

April 17, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Residents and farms along the Tule River have been hammered by flood waters this year. And, unfortunately, the best those same folks can hope for as the weather heats up is, well, more flooding. “I think the best case scenario is a prolonged period of minor to moderate flooding sort of what we’re already seeing,…

NEWS

Too little or too much, there’s always controversy brewing over Kern River water

Kern River water heads north through flood channel but won’t hit Tulare Lake – yet

Kaweah River water managers prepare for more high water as the valley heats up

“Vibration” in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows

Kern River “orphan channel” could pose problems during the big melt

Who’s in charge? Agencies deal with fragmented flood response in the south San Joaquin Valley

Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

Giant tubes helping manage massive Kern River flows

The Tule River watershed remains a wild card in a wild water year

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