Water News - Page 20 of 70 in California's San Joaquin Valley

Floods • Rivers

Too little or too much, there’s always controversy brewing over Kern River water

April 28, 2023

• by Lois Henry

It may seem like a no-brainer to enthusiastically allow the Kern Water Bank Authority to take up to 300,000 acre feet of flood water off the Kern River and store it underground as water managers scramble to find homes for this year’s epic runoff. But, alas, nothing is simple with water. The water bank’s April…

Floods

Kern River water heads north through flood channel but won’t hit Tulare Lake – yet

April 27, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The heavily overgrown Kern River flood channel that heads north past Highway 46 and eventually meanders into the southern end of the Tulare Lake bed is filling with water. But it’s not “flood water” and it won’t make it into Tulare Lake, said Tim Ashlock, General Manager of Buena Vista Water Storage District. The district…

Floods

Kaweah River water managers prepare for more high water as the valley heats up

April 27, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Water managers along the Kaweah River system have been frantically maintaining waterways as high flows continue chugging through the system. But even as snowmelt begins and flows increase, there isn’t a risk of flooding yet, according to state officials. The Kaweah River flows from Lake Kaweah through Terminus Dam. Below the dam, it has multiple…

dams • Floods

“Vibration” in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows

April 25, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Army Corps of Engineers will temporarily drop outflows from Isabella Dam to zero starting at midnight Wednesday so the power plant at the dam can shut down, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay. Once the power plant, run by Isabella Partners, is down, water will be routed through the dam’s gates and outflows…

Floods • Uncategorized

Kern River “orphan channel” could pose problems during the big melt

April 24, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Kern River flood channel that heads north to the old Tulare Lake bed from Highway 46 is decidedly not ready for what may become massive runoff. It’s a thicket of trees and shrubs and its banks are a weedy, trash strewn mess. But figuring out who’s in charge of clearing out that 16-mile stretch…

Uncategorized

Easter on the Kern River

April 22, 2023

• by Lois Henry

I meant to post these photos earlier, but got busy! I went up the Kern River Canyon on Easter to get a look at the water. Spoiler alert: It’s BIGGGG! …

Federal System • State System

California’s water contractors get full supply from the state and federal systems

April 20, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Water users for both the State Water Project and Central Valley Project will get a 100% allocation, agencies announced Thursday. The string of storms that battered California over the past few months have inundated the state with water and built up a record-breaking snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The extraordinary amount of water is…

Floods

Who’s in charge? Agencies deal with fragmented flood response in the south San Joaquin Valley

April 20, 2023

• by SJV Water

Editors note: This story is a collaboration between SJV Water and Fresnoland, a non-profit news site in Fresno. Contributing reporters Jesse Vad, SJV Water, jesse.vad@sjvwater.org Gregory Weaver, Fresnoland, gregory@fresnoland.org Shaikh Rashad, Fresnoland, omar@fresnoland.org Residents and agencies struggle with jurisdiction in historic flood fight near the old Tulare Lake bed Flood water flowing toward the small…

Floods • Uncategorized

Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County will remain mostly dry and continue being farmed by the J.G. Boswell Company despite the coming, epic snow melt. But unlike in Kings County where Boswell has been taking heat for continuing to farm parts of the old Tulare Lake bed while others have been flooded…

Floods • Uncategorized

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

It isn’t just water that’s been barreling down the Kern River in this historic water year. Trees, shrubs, trash – even old appliances – have come swirling down the river bed, plucked out by heavy equipment and piled on the banks in massive heaps. City of Bakersfield crews, along with other agencies, worked round the…

NEWS

Too little or too much, there’s always controversy brewing over Kern River water

Kern River water heads north through flood channel but won’t hit Tulare Lake – yet

Kaweah River water managers prepare for more high water as the valley heats up

“Vibration” in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows

Kern River “orphan channel” could pose problems during the big melt

Easter on the Kern River

California’s water contractors get full supply from the state and federal systems

Who’s in charge? Agencies deal with fragmented flood response in the south San Joaquin Valley

Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

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