English | Español

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin-in Instagram
Login
Donate

NEWS

New Kern County groundwater bank gets underway with another shot of public funding

• by Lois Henry
The $171 million Kern Fan Groundwater Storage project – with a unique “eco-twist” – received another chunk of public funding just as the first section of the 1,300-acre project had a formal christening on Wednesday. Officials with Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District, Irvine Ranch Water District and the Bureau of Reclamation gathered at the project…
Read More

VIDEO: Exploring the south valley’s wetlands, preserves and habitat sanctuaries – a mini tour

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
In late February, the nonprofit  Central Valley Joint Venture took a group of environmental scientists, advocates and nature enthusiasts on a tour of successful wetland restoration projects in the south San Joaquin Valley. The tour focused on the efforts to reclaim agricultural land for habitat and the possibility of returning more of the valley to…
Read More

MEETING NOTES: Residents in Kern County desert groundwater basin need to represent their own water interests in ongoing court action

• by Sonia Lemus, freelance for SJV Water
Meeting: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority board of directors Date: March 29, 2024 Agenda and Packet: CLICK HERE Background: The basin depends on 7,650 acre feet of natural inflow each year but users pump out nearly 28,000 acre feet annually, creating a severe overdraft. As the Authority has worked to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater…
Read More

Court ruling against bond financing for controversial delta tunnel won’t impede project, state says

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
A recent court ruling may have thrown a wrench in the state’s funding plans for the controversial and expensive Delta Conveyance Project – a tunnel to move Sacramento River water 45 miles beneath the ecologically sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.  In January, the Sacramento Superior Court denied the state Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) request to…
Read More

Dead fish piling up in pockets along the western reach of the Kern River concern Bakersfield residents; may prompt return to court

• by Lois Henry
After taking a bike ride along the Kern River recently, Bakersfield resident Jonathan Vegas was dismayed by what he found the farther west he pedaled. “More of the river has dried up, and the smell of death goes on for miles from the dead fish carcasses throughout the riverbed,” he wrote in an email. “It’s…
Read More

MEETING NOTES: North Kern approves eminent domain to build new water recharge facility

• by Sonia Lemus, freelance for SJV Water
Meeting: North Kern Water Storage District board of directors. Date: March 19, 2024 Agenda and board packet: CLICK HERE Background: North Kern, which stretches along Highway 99 from Bakersfield to near McFarland, annexed an area known as the “Rosedale Ranch Improvement District (RRID)” in 1966. That chunk of land is generally bounded by Allen and…
Read More

Powerful Kern water agency ousts longtime legal counsel

• by Lois Henry
With only three months left on her contract, the longtime attorney for the powerful Kern County Water Agency was ousted Monday, March 18, during a special meeting. Six of the agency’s seven directors voted in favor of terminating General Counsel Amelia Minaberrigarai’s contract after a short closed session. Director Laura Cattani was absent. The contract…
Read More

State Water Board reduces pumping fees by half but some say it’s still too high

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Members of the state Water Resources Control Board voted unanimously on Tuesday, March 19, to reduce pumping fees for groundwater users in subbasins that come under state control, known as “probationary status.” The controversial fee was lowered from $40 per-acre-foot of pumped water to $20 per acre foot.   The board will hold its first probationary…
Read More
Sponsored

Receive the latest news

Subscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter & Get Email Notifications

Enter your email address to receive INSTANT ALERTS of new articles and to be added to SJV Water’s WEEKLY NEWSLETTER