Water News - Page 44 of 76 in California's San Joaquin Valley

Gov. Newsom’s drought order brings ag well activity to a standstill in some areas

April 14, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Valley groundwater agencies are mired in confusion and concern over Gov. Newsom’s March 28 executive drought order, which added new steps for permitting agricultural wells, according to agencies’ staff. As groundwater agency managers scramble to hash out exactly how to comply with the order, well permits in some areas are stuck in limbo leaving well…

Drinking Water • Drought

A glimmer of hope in one small town’s long struggle for clean water

April 12, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The tiny community of Tooleville on the edge of the valley floor in Tulare County is finally beginning the process of getting clean drinking water from the nearby City of Exeter. And last month, the state announced a proposed standard for hexavalent chromium, which is in Tooleville’s water. Without a safety standard for hexavalent chromium…

Uncategorized

Kern County agricultural water district begins mining mountain stream under pilot program

April 8, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Water flowing down the south fork of the Kern River began running through Lake Isabella earlier this month with a name and destination attached for the first time in its history. The water will eventually make its way 60 miles down river to its owner, the Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District in northwest Bakersfield under…

Federal System

When ag water is short, it’s good to be a San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor

April 4, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Even as most agricultural water supplies are being cut to the bone with California descending into a third year of extreme drought, the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor districts will apparently receive 100% of their “critical year” allotment – 650,000 acre feet. The move is just one of the quirks in California’s byzantine world water…

Groundwater • Personalities

Judge’s order stops a Kings County pipeline, the focus of just one battle in the ongoing Boswell-Vidovich water war

April 4, 2022

• by Lois Henry

A Kings County judge issued a preliminary injunction Monday stopping a 48-inch water pipeline from cutting through the Tulare Lake Canal. The decision comes several months after J.G. Boswell, which controls the Tulare Lake Canal Company, blockaded the canal with bulldozers and excavators to keep the pipeline, owned by Sandridge Partners, which is controlled by…

Drought

Kern River snow watcher’s report shows below average year

April 3, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Amateur, but thorough, snow watcher Scott Williams released his monthly “Kern River Snow and Water Report” April 2 and the news is subpar. Annual runoff from the watershed is anticipated to be 33% of average this year based on the paltry snow pack left following the significantly dry January, February and March months. Williams compiles…

Groundwater • Personalities

Judge in Boswell-Vidovich battle says she can’t “stretch” laws to keep groundwater from leaving Kings County

April 2, 2022

• by Lois Henry

A pair of lawsuits focused on trespass and environmental issues surrounding construction of a 48-inch water pipeline in Kings County are, in many ways, just a token of a much larger issue: Groundwater leaving the county, a judge noted on Friday. “The fact that groundwater is an issue in this county isn’t disputed,” Judge Valerie…

Drought

Gov. Newsom’s drought order aims to slow ag well drilling

April 1, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

New wells for agriculture will be more difficult to drill in the San Joaquin Valley under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order in response to the ongoing drought. Part of the order prohibits new wells from being drilled without approval from local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA) first. The GSAs must determine that new wells or…

SGMA

Groundwater agencies at the epicenter of sinking beneath the Friant-Kern Canal have restricted pumping, raised fees in hopes of curbing water table free fall

March 29, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Three Tulare County groundwater agencies that cover areas with severe subsidence due to over pumping spent the last year implementing programs to stem that tide and collected more than $11 million in the process. The Lower Tule River Irrigation District, Pixley Irrigation District and Eastern Tule groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA) are among the first to…

The Law of the River

NEW: Law of the River

March 28, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Who owns the waters of the Kern? Welcome to the new SJV Water special projects section where you’ll find news articles, information, stories and media regarding The Law of The River….

NEWS

Gov. Newsom’s drought order brings ag well activity to a standstill in some areas

A glimmer of hope in one small town’s long struggle for clean water

Kern County agricultural water district begins mining mountain stream under pilot program

When ag water is short, it’s good to be a San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor

Judge’s order stops a Kings County pipeline, the focus of just one battle in the ongoing Boswell-Vidovich water war

Kern River snow watcher’s report shows below average year

Judge in Boswell-Vidovich battle says she can’t “stretch” laws to keep groundwater from leaving Kings County

Gov. Newsom’s drought order aims to slow ag well drilling

Groundwater agencies at the epicenter of sinking beneath the Friant-Kern Canal have restricted pumping, raised fees in hopes of curbing water table free fall

NEW: Law of the River

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