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Kern groundwater tally not adding up

• by Lois Henry
San Joaquin Valley farms and towns have pumped the basin’s groundwater so furiously and for so long that parts of the valley are sinking, endangering roads and bridges and even breaking one of the main canals that brings in water to support local agriculture. Yet, here in Kern County, state-mandated water budgets presented by several…
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Salty water spat erupts over “no man’s land” of Mendota Pool

• by Lois Henry
The federal government has OKed a 20-year extension of a water exchange program for one Central Valley water district that another district says will illegally foul its water. The Bureau of Reclamation billed the exchange program as a way to “optimize water supplies and reduce pumping impacts” by allowing a group of Westlands Water District…
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Irrigation water prices under SGMA causing sticker shock

• by Lois Henry
Reaction was hushed when Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District General Manager Eric Averett asked the small group of farmers Tuesday morning if any were interested in buying irrigation water at the previously unheard of price of $770 an acre foot. No papers rustled. Keyboards went silent. And none of the growers raised a hand. Such…
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Kern groundwater shortfall numbers closer to reality

• by Lois Henry
New numbers coming in from water districts to the Kern Groundwater Authority show a groundwater overdraft of 249,644 acre feet a year – and that’s a good thing. “At the last meeting, I admonished water managers to get serious about this, and I’m pleased to report that they have,” said Dennis Mullins, chair of the…
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No-nonsense Kern water leader dies at 67

• by Lois Henry
Dennis Mullins led the first attempt to measure Kern groundwater under new state law.  For long-time local attorney Dennis Mullins, life was a banquet of knowledge and one of his greatest joys was filling himself up so he could help others. He was well-known for his ability to pare down and communicate complex issues, often…
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Lawsuit aims to save desert ag

• by Lois Henry
Water managers trying to bring groundwater into balance in the severely overdrafted Indian Wells Valley basin near Ridgecrest laid out a draft plan last month that would essentially mean the end of large-scale agriculture in that desert region.Mojave Pistachios Complaint “We are giving options to (ag) pumpers so they understand they have a limited future…
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SJV Water doin’ someSGMA talk on KGET Ch. 17

• by Lois Henry
KGET Ch. 17 Anchor Jim Scott in Bakersfield invited SJV Water back for more water talk this week. The show, Kern County In Depth, airs THIS Saturday (Feb. 1) at 6 p.m. on Channel 17. SJV Water Editor and CEO Lois Henry talks with Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District General Manager Eric Averett and Kern…
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Farmers looking for answers in groundwater plans

• by Lois Henry
Now that actual pumping amounts are coming out per the state’s new groundwater law, farmers, bankers, farm managers and others are getting a clearer picture of their post SGMA worlds. And they have questions. About 25 people attended a recent groundwater sustainability plan presentation in Shafter for landowners in the Shafter-Wasco Irrigation and North Kern…
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