Groundwater Archives - Page 7 of 12

Madera groundwater plan accepted by state

November 11, 2020

• by Lois Henry

The public can finally get a look at how Madera officials plan to correct severe groundwater over pumping and replenish aquifers in that area. For some farmers, that correction will mean pumping limits of up to 50 percent from what’s allowed today. Water budgets and water markets will also likely become the norm. That information…

Expiration dates looming for TCP lawsuits

November 4, 2020

• by Lois Henry

The clock is ticking for some water systems and well owners to file a claim if they’re considering suing Dow Chemical and Shell Oil companies for possibly tainting groundwater with a chemical known as 1,2,3-TCP. That’s short for 1,2,3-trichloropropane. It’s a chemical that was added to a nematode fumigant made by Shell and Dow and…

Federal System • Friant-Kern Canal • Groundwater

Friant-Kern Canal fix approved over concerns the plan isn’t fully baked

October 28, 2020

• by Lois Henry

The Friant Water Authority on Thursday approved the final environmental review for a massive project to fix a 33-mile segment of the Friant-Kern Canal despite continued questions about funding and other concerns expressed by some Friant contractors. One water manager compared the plan to several bungled construction projects, including California’s High Speed Rail and a…

Groundwater • Rivers

Locals speak up for the Kern River at the State Water Board

October 23, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Love was overflowing for the Kern River Tuesday at the State Water Resources Control Board’s monthly meeting. A slew of Bakersfield locals told board members how much an actual, wet river means for residents. Speakers asked board members to make the Kern a priority and finally allocate unappropriated water on the river that has been…

Drinking Water • Groundwater

FREE! water quality testing for domestic well owners

October 21, 2020

• by Lois Henry

The U.S. Geological Survey is sampling in the Modesto, Turlock, and Merced area. For more information visit go.usa.gov/xfA85 or contact Jen Shelton at jshelton@usgs.gov or (916) 278-3068. Para informacion en espanol, llame a Robert Kent, (619) 436-8285….

Conservation • Groundwater • Water Markets

“Madness and arrogance” blamed for one lawsuit against desert groundwater agency

October 1, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Two lawsuits accusing the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority of ramming through a plan that ignores water rights and, according to one plaintiff, is intended to “destroy agriculture” were filed this week. At issue is a controversial $2,000-per-acre-foot fee approved by the authority last month that would be charged to certain groundwater users over a…

Federal System • Groundwater • Rivers • State System

Happy 50th “Kern Riversary!” 1970 vote brought river into public hands

September 30, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Fifty years ago this week, the Bakersfield City Council committed an audaciously historic act. On Monday evening Sept. 28, 1970, council members decided to sue Tenneco West for a slice of the Kern River. “The shock was great to many, but from that day forward we had their attention and cooperation,” states the “Kern River…

Federal System • Friant-Kern Canal • Groundwater

20-mile replacement canal is preferred fix for the sagging Friant-Kern Canal

September 19, 2020

• by Lois Henry

A rapid-fire review of potential fixes to the Friant-Kern Canal favors building a replacement canal for 20 miles alongside the existing canal where land subsidence has caused it to sag, severely restricting water flow, according to final environmental documents released Friday. The environmental documents, which looked at the project under both state and federal environmental…

Conservation • Groundwater • Water Markets

Evaporation adds up. How much? Google it – someday

September 17, 2020

• by Lois Henry

There are lots of new water gizmos popping up these days but there’s only one Google. Which makes the massive tech company’s involvement in a proposed water measurement tool both intriguing and slightly suspicious to some agricultural water managers. The same goes for another partner in the effort, the Environmental Defense Fund, a well-known advocacy…

Drinking Water • Groundwater • Water Banking

Tainted valley groundwater could stymie banking deals

September 3, 2020

• by Lois Henry

The big kahuna of California water — Metropolitan Water District of Southern California — has stopped taking supplies from one Kern County groundwater bank because the water is heavily tainted with a cancer-causing agent that is pervasive in Central Valley’s aquifers. While only one banking program has been affected so far, the emergence of this…

NEWS

Madera groundwater plan accepted by state

Expiration dates looming for TCP lawsuits

Friant-Kern Canal fix approved over concerns the plan isn’t fully baked

Locals speak up for the Kern River at the State Water Board

FREE! water quality testing for domestic well owners

“Madness and arrogance” blamed for one lawsuit against desert groundwater agency

Happy 50th “Kern Riversary!” 1970 vote brought river into public hands

20-mile replacement canal is preferred fix for the sagging Friant-Kern Canal

Evaporation adds up. How much? Google it – someday

Tainted valley groundwater could stymie banking deals

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