Water News - Page 64 of 76 in California's San Joaquin Valley

Western Kern River bike path extension to start this month

August 7, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Residents will soon be able to scoot, cycle, jog or hike on the bike path all the way from the middle of Bakersfield to Buena Vista Lake. Construction on a 7-mile-long extension of the Kern River bike path from its current terminus at Enos Lane to Buena Vista Lake south of Highway 119 will begin…

Rivers

Unlikely source promises (a little) water for the Kern River

August 7, 2020

• by Lois Henry

If all goes according to plan, there will be water in the Kern River through spring in most years. And not just when Mother Nature dumps a boatload of snow in the Sierras. The City of Bakersfield is poised to ink a deal with Buena Vista Water Storage District that will provide at least some…

Drinking Water

Clean water advocates hoping to safeguard SAFER funding

August 5, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Just when it looked like small drinking water systems in California were finally getting the long-term help they so desperately need, along came COVID-19. The state is peppered with failing small systems, many serving low-income communities without the resources to repair them. At least one-third of those failing systems are in the San Joaquin Valley,…

Rivers

N-i-i-i-i-ce kitty!

August 5, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Retired Shafter farmer David Bell snapped a photo of what appears to be a young mountain lion as Bell was biking on the Kern River Parkway early Tuesday morning. Bell was about a mile east of Enos Lane when he saw what he thought might be a dog. As he got closer, he said, he…

Groundwater • Rivers • State System

Valley farmers look to Kern River tributary to replenish groundwater

July 29, 2020

• by Lois Henry

A Kern County water agency is facing a wall of opposition against its plan to harvest up to 12,000 acre feet of water from the South Fork of the Kern River above Lake Isabella and bring it to valley farms and homeowners in northwest Bakersfield. Mountain residents fear the proposal by Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage…

Federal System

Could “angel investors” buy a piece of the Friant-Kern Canal?

July 18, 2020

• by Lois Henry

An investor funding proposal that could substantially increase the Friant-Kern Canal’s historic flow capacity is gaining interest among the Friant Water Authority’s member districts. In theory, that investor money could bump the amount of water that has historically flowed down the canal on the Central Valley’s eastern flank by up to 800 cubic feet per…

Drinking Water

Unpaid bills spiking at some water utilities

July 18, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Several state legislators have asked the Governor to extend his order prohibiting water shutoffs for nonpayment to even the smallest water utilities. Right now, the Governor’s April 2 order applies to water utilities serving 200 or more connections. If Gov. Newsom expands his order, it could have a huge impact in the San Joaquin Valley,…

Rivers

“Unqualifiedly” in favor of Pine Flat Dam in 1918

July 13, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Jon Earnest, editor of the Reedley Exponent, found this gem of a story as he was searching the archives recently for stories on our last pandemic in 1918. Pine Flat Dam had not yet been built. Locals had to first form an irrigation district before moving forward with the Pine Flat Dam project on the…

Drinking Water

Survey says: COVID-19 impacts on drinking water systems still unknown

July 4, 2020

• by Lois Henry

More than four months into the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to say exactly what the fallout has been for drinking water utilities. Predictions were dire shortly after Gov. Newsom ordered a moratorium on water shutoffs for non-payment back in early April. Would there be an avalanche of non payers? If so, how…

Federal System • Rivers

Temperance Flat Dam on indefinite hold after report shows it doesn’t pencil out for water users

July 3, 2020

• by Lois Henry

An investment analysis that looked at how much it would cost water users to build and operate the proposed Temperance Flat Dam northeast of Fresno without government funding was finished earlier this year and quietly passed among water districts, which just as quietly asked the federal government to shelve work on the project. A small…

NEWS

Western Kern River bike path extension to start this month

Unlikely source promises (a little) water for the Kern River

Clean water advocates hoping to safeguard SAFER funding

N-i-i-i-i-ce kitty!

Valley farmers look to Kern River tributary to replenish groundwater

Could “angel investors” buy a piece of the Friant-Kern Canal?

Unpaid bills spiking at some water utilities

“Unqualifiedly” in favor of Pine Flat Dam in 1918

Survey says: COVID-19 impacts on drinking water systems still unknown

Temperance Flat Dam on indefinite hold after report shows it doesn’t pencil out for water users

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