How water from Kern grows sprawl in Madera

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News

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April 1, 2019

So, a pile of water banked in Kern County is being used to support a massive urban development in Madera County.

Before you try and wrap your head around how that’s geographically possible, there’s the whole question of whether the banked water (and other water slated for the project) even can be used for that purpose.

Then let’s tack on whether it’s cool that public resources are being used throughout this deal to basically benefit private businesses.

I swear when I started this I just wondered how the water would “move” up to Madera.

Why can’t anything ever be simple?

Let’s start in Madera County.

Author

Lois Henry

CEO and editor Lois Henry has spent 30 years covering the San Joaquin Valley.

She was raised on a ranch east of Fresno and attended Fresno State where she majored in Journalism.

In Bakersfield she covered a variety of beats including the military, social services, the oil industry, city and county government and did a stint in Sacramento at The Californian’s capitol bureau.

Henry spent 10 years as a manager and was the lead editor for the paper’s many award-winning projects.

In 2007, she began a twice weekly, investigative column and was able to focus on one of her passions – water.

Valley residents innately understand the importance of water. Henry has helped develop that understanding by untangling the complicated knots of rights, lawsuits, contracts and deals by which water is moved and consumed.

She plans to continue that mission through SJV Water.

Henry lives with her husband, one dog and two very spoiled cats in Bakersfield.

How water from Kern grows sprawl in Madera

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