Kings River fish fry (release)
A gazillion baby rainbow trout were ready to stretch their fins and the Kings River Fisheries Management Program was there to help. On a warm February afternoon a handful of volunteers gathered at the nondescript trout incubator in the shadow of the Pine Flat Dam ready to set tens of thousands of fry free into…
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Price of water going up as the snowpack shrinks
Another block of water has been offered for sale in Kern County at $950 per acre foot. With a dry January and extremely dry February, California’s water outlook has worsened. And that has bumped the price of water for those who have it to sell. You need to login to view the rest of the…
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Tom McCarthy named new head of Kern County Water Agency
Tom McCarthy, head of the Mojave Water Agency, was named as the new General Manager for the Kern County Water Agency at its board of directors meeting Thursday. Agency directors approved a five-year contract for McCarthy including total compensation “not to exceed $415,000 annually,” plus $60,000 in relocation fees. “This was a very difficult decision…
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State refuses to accept groundwater plans for the Madera subbasin
In the first indication of how strict state officials will be with new groundwater sustainability agencies, the Department of Water Resources has refused to accept groundwater plans covering the Madera subbasin because one of those agencies did not sign a coordination agreement. The DWR has not posted the submitted groundwater sustainability plans on its website…
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Initial federal water allocations for valley ag are low at 15 and 20 percent
An historically dry February forced the feds to keep initial water allocations to Central Valley Project contractors low in the first round of allocations announced Tuesday during a call with federal water contractors. The Bureau of Reclamation is looking at delivering 15 percent of contracted amounts to agricultural contractors, such as Westlands Water District, south…
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Modesto farmer Bill Lyons resigns as Governor’s ag liaison
Bill Lyons resigned his post as agricultural liaison to Gov. Gavin Newsom effective immediately, according to an email from the Governor’s office Monday afternoon. Lyons, a long time Modesto farmer, was touted as being the “voice of the valley” in the Newsom administration when he was appointed to the unique post almost exactly one year…
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SoCal water managers want to know who – exactly – is sinking the California Aqueduct
A state report released in December pinned blame for sinking along the California Aqueduct on excessive nearby groundwater pumping to irrigate vineyards and nut orchards. That was a pretty pointed finger, but not pointed enough for some committee directors in the large and powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. They wanted names. The issue…
Read MoreWater conference bad form
It’s unclear why certain members of the media were kept out of a water policy conference on Tuesday, yet the entire event was broadcast on one particular television station’s website. Whatever water policy was discussed, it’s bad policy to invite members of the public (the media are members of the public), give out tickets and…
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With Trump comes a lot of speculation
Will President Donald Trump give his signatory flourish to the new controversial federal plan for operations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta when he visits Bakersfield on Wednesday? Will he announce full funding to fix the sagging Friant-Kern Canal? Or will he do a 180 and announce some entirely new policy on oil extraction or endangered…
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Drought – where are we now? Lets check the numbers
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Maven's Notebook is an excellent daily accounting of California water happenings statewide.
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