Groundwater Archives - Page 4 of 11

Growers hope groundwater markets provide flexibility

September 7, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Some San Joaquin Valley farmers could someday have a new “crop” to sell — their groundwater. In the face of looming groundwater pumping restrictions, some groundwater agencies are looking at internal markets to give growers a way to save water and still earn a profit. These nascent markets are still in the talking and tinkering…

Proposed groundwater bank sparks legal challenge

August 17, 2021

• by Lois Henry

A battle of groundwater banks is underway in Kern County with accusations that one is poised to mine the local aquifer and sell water outside the area. The two main combatants are the massive Kern Water Bank, which covers 32-square miles straddling Interstate 5 west of Bakersfield, and the Buena Vista Water Storage District, which…

Drinking Water • Drought • Groundwater

State still hasn’t fixed Porterville drinking water crisis from the last drought. Will residents go dry again?

June 30, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

The epicenter of dry wells during California’s last devastating drought was undoubtedly Porterville. The small Tulare County town saw wells go dry enmasse in its unincorporated east side. It became a national headline as the media descended. Amid the glare of tv cameras, the state pledged to help and agreed to build three new wells….

Federal System • Floods • Groundwater • State System • Water Banking

Lawsuit claims Kern County Water Agency shorted a key local canal’s volume

June 30, 2021

• by Lois Henry

The Cross Valley Canal is a key cog in the southern San Joaquin Valley’s water machinery. It moves water east and west between the California Aqueduct along Kern County’s western edge to the Kern County Water Agency’s facilities near Manor Street in Bakersfield. Along the way, it also connects with the federally owned Friant-Kern Canal,…

Groundwater

Madera ranchers circle the wagons over county groundwater plan

June 16, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Central Valley cattle ranchers are gearing up for a fight against what they see as groundwater rustling. Their fear is that newly formed groundwater agencies in some areas could devalue their land by not giving them a fair share of their own groundwater. Ranchers believe those fears were realized on June 8 when the Madera…

Groundwater

Bills to fund canal repairs moving forward

June 11, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

California’s canals are sinking. Excessive groundwater pumping has collapsed the land beneath several key canals, crimping their ability to move water. Fixing them will be expensive. There are two bills moving through the state Legislature and Congress that could provide some funding. This is the second try for the state bill, Senate Bill 559 by…

Conservation • Groundwater

Putting farmland out to pasture not an easy task

June 7, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Not all farmland in the San Joaquin Valley will survive in a post-SGMA world. Estimates are that the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act will force between 500,000 to one million acres of land that’s currently farmed to be taken out of production to save groundwater. Which lands and what will become of those lands are major…

Groundwater

SJV on VPR!

June 4, 2021

• by Lois Henry

Valley Public Radio in Fresno interviewed me about SJV Water’s story on subsidence in Corcoran that ran in the New York Times. TAKE A LISTEN!…

Groundwater • SGMA

Search for groundwater gets high-tech boost

June 1, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Groundwater is one of the hottest ticket items in California’s water world these days. But much about it is a mystery. Where is it? How does it move? Which are the best spots to percolate water into the ground for storage? At least two technologies hope to answer some of those questions: airborne electromagnetic surveys…

Drought • Federal System • Groundwater • Personalities

Will climate change alter water rights?

May 27, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

The specter of climate change isn’t just impacting weather, it could also change California water rights, according to experts who spoke at this year’s annual Water Summit put on by the Water Association of Kern County. The May 25 virtual event included a host of experts who caught attendees up on the latest information about…

NEWS