Uncategorized Archives - Page 21 of 31

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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Freeway sign marks significant chapter in California water history

June 14, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Travelers along northbound Highway 99 may have noticed a large – very large – sign a little ways past Highway 166 that says “Howard Frick Pump Plant” in massive white letters on a blue background. Well, who the heck is Howard Frick, some drivers may wonder. Frick was one of the main people who ushered…

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Westlands Water District lets bounty of flood water flow to the ocean instead of maximizing groundwater recharge

May 30, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Groundwater recharge – or the lack of it – was a driving force behind the sweep of new board members who took over the behemoth Westlands Water District last fall. “Urgently develop groundwater recharge,” was the top plank in the platform of four candidates who won election in November. And the district has, indeed, built…

Floods • Uncategorized

Big melt may be less dramatic – and damaging – than initially thought

May 22, 2023

• by Lois Henry

State flood responders are still planning for the worst, but newly released inundation models are predicting a less dramatic and damaging snow melt as California heads into the summer months. On the Kern River, predictions are now showing releases from Isabella Dam can be maintained at 7,750 cubic feet per second, or less, throughout the rest…

NEWS

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

Freeway sign marks significant chapter in California water history

Westlands Water District lets bounty of flood water flow to the ocean instead of maximizing groundwater recharge

Big melt may be less dramatic – and damaging – than initially thought

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