State System Archives - Page 3 of 4

Valley farmers look to Kern River tributary to replenish groundwater

July 29, 2020

• by Lois Henry

A Kern County water agency is facing a wall of opposition against its plan to harvest up to 12,000 acre feet of water from the South Fork of the Kern River above Lake Isabella and bring it to valley farms and homeowners in northwest Bakersfield. Mountain residents fear the proposal by Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage…

State System

May storms give state contractors 5% boost

May 22, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Department of Water Resources press release: SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The State Water Project (SWP) now expects to deliver 20 percent of requested supplies in 2020 thanks to above-average precipitation in May, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced today. An initial allocation of 10 percent was announced in December and increased to 15 percent…

Drought • Federal System • State System

Dry year, not politics, behind 15-percent water allocation

May 1, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Water may be highly political but dry is dry. And California is exceedingly dry this year, Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth told SJV Water in explaining the state’s low 15-percent allocation for farms and cities that rely on water from the State Water Project. Given the results of Thursday’s final snow survey in…

Drought • Federal System • Groundwater • State System

State’s low water allocation prompts frustration, suspicion

April 29, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Is the State Water Project’s extremely low water allocation based on California’s fickle climate? Or politics? A growing chorus of frustrated water managers are wondering. After a dry January, the Department of Water Resources announced it would only be able to deliver 15 percent of contracted water amounts to farms and cities. That number hasn’t…

Federal System • Rivers • State System

New state water regs cause angst on all sides

April 9, 2020

• by Lois Henry

A new set of water regulations aimed at protecting California’s native fish came down from the state earlier this week to near universal condemnation from both agricultural and environmental water folks. The regulations are contained in a 143-page “incidental take permit” issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife that lays out when — and…

Federal System • Rivers • State System

March storms leave so-so snowpack in the north and a cliffhanger on the San Joaquin River

April 1, 2020

• by Lois Henry

March wasn’t exactly miraculous this year but it did OK by California’s snowpack, bringing it from a dismal 40-ish% of average up to above 60% of average in the northern Sierras. The bump wasn’t so great in the southern Sierras where snowpack is still at 40% to 46% of average for the Kaweah, Kern and…

Drought • Federal System • State System

The atmospheric river is flowing

March 11, 2020

• by Lois Henry

The storm finally arrived in Bakersfield early Tuesday evening. The storm was expected to bring significant rainfall to areas in the San Joaquin Valley after a dry January and even drier February, according to the National Weather Service’s Hanford office: A system will approach the coast of California through Wednesday. Significant rainfall is likely in…

Groundwater • State System • Uncategorized

SoCal water managers want to know who – exactly – is sinking the California Aqueduct

February 21, 2020

• by Lois Henry

A state report released in December pinned blame for sinking along the California Aqueduct on excessive nearby groundwater pumping to irrigate vineyards and nut orchards. That was a pretty pointed finger, but not pointed enough for some committee directors in the large and powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. They wanted names. The issue…

Personalities • State System

Wanted: Big vision, small ego to run Kern County Water Agency

February 6, 2020

• by Lois Henry

One of California’s most important water jobs is coming open next month. It’s a job with immense responsibilities, clout and high pay. And even though it’s the head of a public agency, most people have no idea how much it affects their daily lives, especially in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Kern County Water Agency…

Groundwater • State System • Uncategorized

Extreme ag pumping threatens California’s main water artery

February 6, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Heavy groundwater pumping to sustain a massive increase in orchards and vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley has brought the state’s main water artery to the brink of permanent damage, according to report released by the Department of Water Resources Dec. 31. If groundwater pumping near the California Aqueduct continues at current levels through the…

NEWS

Valley farmers look to Kern River tributary to replenish groundwater

May storms give state contractors 5% boost

Dry year, not politics, behind 15-percent water allocation

State’s low water allocation prompts frustration, suspicion

New state water regs cause angst on all sides

March storms leave so-so snowpack in the north and a cliffhanger on the San Joaquin River

The atmospheric river is flowing

SoCal water managers want to know who – exactly – is sinking the California Aqueduct

Wanted: Big vision, small ego to run Kern County Water Agency

Extreme ag pumping threatens California’s main water artery

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