Our “valley of tribes” must work together on water issues
Water and oil do mix, or at least they should in order for the San Joaquin Valley to succeed, said Sarge Green, a project director at the Water, Education and Technology (WET) center at Fresno State. Green spoke at the annual Kern Energy Summit Wednesday morning. He was joined by Steve Bohlen, Energy and Homeland…
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State water contractors should “drill into” California’s response to new delta biological opinions
A top federal water official warned members of a Central Valley water group that the state’s response to new guidelines for federally endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta would likely include alternatives “inconsistent with your interests.” Ernest Conant, director of the California Great Basin Region of the Bureau of Reclamation (until recently known as…
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Water is key factor in farmland values
Mike Ming, owner of Ag Alliance Services, Inc., puts out a quarterly report looking at farmland valuations in Kern County. Following the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), water access has become a key factor in land prices – and not in a good way. Key takeaways in Ming’s 3rd quarter report include:…
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No-nonsense Kern water leader dies at 67
Dennis Mullins led the first attempt to measure Kern groundwater under new state law. For long-time local attorney Dennis Mullins, life was a banquet of knowledge and one of his greatest joys was filling himself up so he could help others. He was well-known for his ability to pare down and communicate complex issues, often…
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Kern groundwater shortfall numbers closer to reality
New numbers coming in from water districts to the Kern Groundwater Authority show a groundwater overdraft of 249,644 acre feet a year – and that’s a good thing. “At the last meeting, I admonished water managers to get serious about this, and I’m pleased to report that they have,” said Dennis Mullins, chair of the…
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Farmers looking for answers in groundwater plans
Now that actual pumping amounts are coming out per the state’s new groundwater law, farmers, bankers, farm managers and others are getting a clearer picture of their post SGMA worlds. And they have questions. About 25 people attended a recent groundwater sustainability plan presentation in Shafter for landowners in the Shafter-Wasco Irrigation and North Kern…
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SJV Water on the Richard Beene radio show KERN 1180a.m./96.1f.m.
I was on the radio yesterday talking about SJV Water and our first story detailing the wide gulf between what Kern water manager’s claim our groundwater overdraft is and what modeling has shown it truly is. Spoiler alert: The overdraft is BIG! CLICK HERE to listen to the radio interview.
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Kern groundwater tally not adding up
San Joaquin Valley farms and towns have pumped the basin’s groundwater so furiously and for so long that parts of the valley are sinking, endangering roads and bridges and even breaking one of the main canals that brings in water to support local agriculture. Yet, here in Kern County, state-mandated water budgets presented by several…
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Water updates large and small
What’s new in water? Oh, I thought you’d never ask. I’ve got some important tidbits for you. Oh don’t whine, this is the last water column by me you’ll have to slog through so COWGRRRL UP! The biggest, immediate water question right now is: Will they? Or won’t they? I’m talking about the California WaterFix and…
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Cowboy tactics not helping turn failed McAllister Ranch subdivision into Kern’s newest water bank
Well, that didn’t take long. It’s been less than a month since Buena Vista Water Storage District bought the remaining 600 acres of the failed McAllister Ranch subdivision and it’s already butting heads with Bakersfield city officials. Like, major league butting. The city cited the water district last week for excavating several ditches on the…
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