Uncategorized Archives

Tule River tribe suffers chronic water problems, even in record wet year

September 12, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Despite a record snowpack that has kept the South Fork of the Tule River flowing at a steady clip, residents of the Tule River Reservation – who get 60 percent of their supplies directly from the river – were recently without water for eight days. The problem, ironically, was too much water. Specifically, from Hurricane…

SGMA • Uncategorized

“Immense” flow of public funds to groundwater agencies is tapering off

September 11, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Since 2015, the state has doled out nearly $150 million to groundwater agencies for planning and projects. The flow of money has been almost nonstop for some agencies and has made it possible to operate consistently. But the tap is shutting off. Groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) are meant to be self-sufficient and generate their own…

Rivers • Uncategorized

Ancestral lands back in the hands of Kern River Valley tribe that had lived there for thousands of years

September 7, 2023

• by Lois Henry

A Kern River Valley Native American tribe that has lived along the branches of the north and south forks of the Kern River for millennia, has ownership of a piece of its ancient homeland for the first time since it was grabbed up by settlers back in the 1800s. The Tübatulabal Tribe got the deed…

Rivers • Uncategorized

Kern River to get a new Watermaster, but one with a familiar name

August 24, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Art Chianello will step in as the new Kern River Watermaster at the start of the new water year, which is Oct. 1. Chianello, who retired as head of the City of Bakersfield’s Water Resources Department in Sept. 2022, is extremely famliar with the inner workings of the Kern River as a large chunk is…

Uncategorized

Group of valley water users files appeal against proposed new dam

August 15, 2023

• by Lois Henry

A group of water users on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley is continuing its unlikely quest to stop a proposed new dam on the west side of the valley. Back in Oct. 2022, a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge dismissed a host of environmental challenges against the project as well as concerns…

Rivers • Uncategorized

Two Kern River power plants up for new licenses – and greater scrutiny

August 3, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Boaters and anglers who’ve long complained about the impacts of two power plants on Kern River flows, want federal regulators to give more water back to the river as part of separate relicensing procedures now underway. “Our main issue is continual flows,” said Jim Ahrens, president of the Kern Fly Fishers club. “To have a…

dams • Uncategorized

Isabella Dam officially off the No. 1 “at risk” dam list, what will that mean for downstream users?

July 20, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially lowered the risk level of Isabella Dam from “highest urgency and risk” to “low urgency” on Thursday. Though an Army Corps spokesman said this means Isabella has returned to “normal operations,” it’s unclear what exactly that will mean for downstream Kern River irrigators as we grind through summer…

Uncategorized

ROOTED IN THE VALLEY: The Lee family fled Laos and made a life, and a successful farm, in the San Joaquin Valley

July 14, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Paul Lee is a second-generation Hmong farmer in Fresno County working to keep his parents’ legacy alive. The Lees were part of a large migration of Hmong families who fled Laos after the United States pulled out of Vietnam. They started off as refugees just trying to survive and found success in the fertile soil…

SGMA • Uncategorized

Chowchilla groundwater plan resubmitted, state releases probationary hearing schedule

June 27, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The first of six inadequate San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans has been revised. Water managers in the Chowchilla subbasin made changes to its groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) and informally resubmitted the plan to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in hopes of avoiding a probationary trial and state intervention. In March, six valley plans…

Uncategorized

Kern River flows to drop again after noise detected in Isabella Dam outlet tunnel

June 26, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Outflows from Lake Isabella into the Kern River will be cut to zero starting at 1 a.m. Tuesday so dam operators can check the source of “funny noises” coming from the outlet tunnel, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay and an Army Corps of Engineers press release. “They’ve been hearing funny noises in the…

NEWS

Tule River tribe suffers chronic water problems, even in record wet year

“Immense” flow of public funds to groundwater agencies is tapering off

Ancestral lands back in the hands of Kern River Valley tribe that had lived there for thousands of years

Kern River to get a new Watermaster, but one with a familiar name

Group of valley water users files appeal against proposed new dam

Two Kern River power plants up for new licenses – and greater scrutiny

Isabella Dam officially off the No. 1 “at risk” dam list, what will that mean for downstream users?

ROOTED IN THE VALLEY: The Lee family fled Laos and made a life, and a successful farm, in the San Joaquin Valley

Chowchilla groundwater plan resubmitted, state releases probationary hearing schedule

Kern River flows to drop again after noise detected in Isabella Dam outlet tunnel

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