Water News - Page 4 of 57 in California's San Joaquin Valley

ROOTED IN THE VALLEY: The Lee family fled Laos and made a life, and a successful farm, in the San Joaquin Valley

July 14, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Paul Lee is a second-generation Hmong farmer in Fresno County working to keep his parents’ legacy alive. The Lees were part of a large migration of Hmong families who fled Laos after the United States pulled out of Vietnam. They started off as refugees just trying to survive and found success in the fertile soil…

Floods

Irrigators want to slow the flow of Kern River to bring Lake Isabella to its brim

July 12, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The question of whether Lake Isabella might “spill” has now turned to whether it will fill. The lake is achingly close to being full. It stood at 528,663 acre feet as of Wednesday afternoon – just 39,337 acre feet shy of its full capacity. But it needs to hit that max fill mark for the…

Groundwater

New groundwater fee aims to create “equity” among South San Joaquin Valley farmers but some say it will unfairly devalue their farms

July 12, 2023

• by Lois Henry

A new groundwater fee intended to create “financial equity” between farmers who pay for imported water and those who don’t has stirred anger and concerns about land valuation in the Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District. The new “groundwater service charge” was approved Wednesday by the Wheeler Ridge board of directors. While this particular issue only…

Floods

State sending $20 million to aid Planada flood victims. Residents say ‘Ojalá’

July 12, 2023

• by Central Valley Journalism Collaborative

Editor’s note: This story was reported and edited by the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, cvlocaljournalism.org, a nonprofit newsroom based in Merced, CA. By Brianna Vaccari and Michelle Morgante Central Valley Journalism Collaborative Planada, Calif. (CVJC) – “Ojalá.” The word, rooted in Arabic, is said by Spanish-speakers to mean “hopefully” or “God willing.” It is said…

Floods

Vast stretches of water that have refilled sections of the old Tulare Lake are actually changing nearby weather

June 30, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The partially refilled Tulare Lake is so large, with so much water spread over so much land, that it’s changing nearby weather. The lake stretches across the horizon as far as the eye can see in many places and is now about the size of Lake Tahoe. The vast amount of water has started to…

SGMA

Facing possible state action, SJV groundwater agencies are scrambling to comply with SGMA, leaving some landowners in the lurch.

June 30, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Growers in a chunk of land sandwiched between Highway 43 and Earlimart in the south valley learned earlier this week they are being booted out of the groundwater sustainability agency they had hoped would help solve their overdraft issues. The Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) board voted to terminate its oversight of what’s…

dams • Floods

NEWS RELEASE: Pine Flat Dam releases water over spillway, but that doesn’t mean the lake is “full”

June 29, 2023

• by SJV Water

* The following news release was provided by the Kings River Conservation District: As Pine Flat Reservoir’s water storage increases and the lake level rises, it eventually reaches a point where the dam’s gated spillway, located at the highest operational point, is used. That level is approximately 85% of gross pool. Water management officials expect…

Water Banking

Will the giant Westlands Water District “spill” water this year for lack of demand?

June 28, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Westlands Water District, the biggest agricultural water district in the state, could lose 200,000 acre feet of water – or more – for lack of demand, according to an update at its June board meeting. The revelation was made during a briefing by Chief Operating Officer Jose Guiterrez who acknowledged Westlands could have more than…

SGMA • Uncategorized

Chowchilla groundwater plan resubmitted, state releases probationary hearing schedule

June 27, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The first of six inadequate San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans has been revised. Water managers in the Chowchilla subbasin made changes to its groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) and informally resubmitted the plan to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in hopes of avoiding a probationary trial and state intervention. In March, six valley plans…

Uncategorized

Kern River flows to drop again after noise detected in Isabella Dam outlet tunnel

June 26, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Outflows from Lake Isabella into the Kern River will be cut to zero starting at 1 a.m. Tuesday so dam operators can check the source of “funny noises” coming from the outlet tunnel, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay and an Army Corps of Engineers press release. “They’ve been hearing funny noises in the…

NEWS

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