Modesto farmer Bill Lyons resigns as Governor’s ag liaison
Bill Lyons resigned his post as agricultural liaison to Gov. Gavin Newsom effective immediately, according to an email from the Governor’s office Monday afternoon. Lyons, a long time Modesto farmer, was touted as being the “voice of the valley” in the Newsom administration when he was appointed to the unique post almost exactly one year…
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San Joaquin River Chinook salmon made history last year – sort of
An unexpected number of Chinook salmon swam up the San Joaquin River last spring, prompting surprise and giddy pronouncements that the river’s long dead spring-run population had been resurrected. The 500 or so fish were living proof that the 11-year-long river restoration program was a success. A “smashing” success, some advocates said. Others felt the…
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Trout fry fest on the Kings River – volunteers needed
The Kings River Fisheries Management Program is looking for volunteers to help with its annual trout fry release February 26. About 8 to 10 people are needed to carry 20-pound buckets full of trout fry to the Kings River between the Army Corps of Engineers bridge to Avocado Lake Park, about 20-30 miles east of…
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Kern River water is at the center of another legal battle
The relative lull in lawsuits over Kern River water was broken Dec. 11 when Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District filed a complaint against the City of Bakersfield. Rosedale’s complaint, filed in Kern County Superior Court, demands that the city keep selling a portion of river water to the district under a layer cake of agreements…
Read MorePotpourri: SJV Water on Berkeley radio, Cali streams tapped out (?), the Creel has landed and more
In the interest of not inundating your email inboxes with a bunch of posts, I’m offering several small newsy water bits in a single take. You are WELCOME! Berkeley gets a Kings earful SJV Water CEO/Editor Lois Henry (that’s me!) was interviewed by Vic Bedoian, a freelance Central Valley radio reporter, for KFPA 94.1 FM…
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Locals gear up for fight to keep Kings River water
Farmers in Kern County applied to the state to take floodwater south to make up huge groundwater deficit Just as they did more than two generations ago, Kern County farmers are looking to another Central Valley river to the north to refill their groundwater shortfall. But this time around, natives in the Kings River watershed…
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SJV Water on the Richard Beene radio show KERN 1180a.m./96.1f.m.
I was on the radio yesterday talking about SJV Water and our first story detailing the wide gulf between what Kern water manager’s claim our groundwater overdraft is and what modeling has shown it truly is. Spoiler alert: The overdraft is BIG! CLICK HERE to listen to the radio interview.
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Kern groundwater tally not adding up
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…
Read MoreBakersfield loses water case, gets $1.64 million pay day
In the ever-twisting world of water, the City of Bakersfield lost a case to North Kern Water Storage District but ended up with a $1.64 million payout. Years ago, when Bakersfield bought rights to the Kern River from Tenneco West, it paid for the purchase through bonds. It repaid those bonds by entering a long-term…
Read MoreThe Kern River is back, at least for now
Bakersfield, we have a river. Depending on Mother Nature, that could be for a long while or a little while. It just depends on whether the firehose known as the “atmospheric river” currently aimed at California from the Pacific points further to the north or further to the south. But the fascinating thing to me…
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Maven's Notebook is an excellent daily accounting of California water happenings statewide.
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