Locals gear up for fight to keep Kings River water
Farmers in Kern County applied to the state to take floodwater south to make up huge groundwater deficit Just as they did more than two generations ago, Kern County farmers are looking to another Central Valley river to the north to refill their groundwater shortfall. But this time around, natives in the Kings River watershed…
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Lawsuit aims to save desert ag
Water managers trying to bring groundwater into balance in the severely overdrafted Indian Wells Valley basin near Ridgecrest laid out a draft plan last month that would essentially mean the end of large-scale agriculture in that desert region.Mojave Pistachios Complaint “We are giving options to (ag) pumpers so they understand they have a limited future…
Read MoreICYMI: SJV Water on TV
SJV Water CEO/Editor Lois Henry had a chance to talk water water water with KGET Ch. 17 Anchor Jim Scott on his show: Kern County In Depth. Also in attendance, Kern Delta Water Agency COO Steve Teglia and soon-to-retire Kern County Water Agency General Manager Curtis Creel. What was on everyone’s minds??? Click below to…
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TUNE IN! KGET Channel 17 in Bakersfield Saturday night Nov. 23 6 p.m.
Well this was a quick turnaround! I was invited by KGET Ch. 17 anchor Jim Scott to talk about water on his Kern County In-Depth program. We talked SGMA with Kern Delta Water District’s new Executive Steve Teglia (formerly Asst. City Manager for Bakersfield) and then Jim interviewed retiring Kern County Water Agency General Manager…
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RAIN in Bakersfield
Those of us who’ve lived in the San Joaquin Valley all our lives are ridiculously excited by weather. And we had some today in Bakersfield. Other parts of the valley, not so much. Rain touched the San Joaquin Valley floor in Bakersfield on Wednesday, for the first time since Sept. 5, 2019 when a smattering…
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Wanted: Big vision, small ego to run Kern County Water Agency
One of California’s most important water jobs is coming open next month. It’s a job with immense responsibilities, clout and high pay. And even though it’s the head of a public agency, most people have no idea how much it affects their daily lives, especially in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Kern County Water Agency…
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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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