POP QUIZ: How closely have you been reading SJV Water???

It’s a brand new year – YAY!

Lets see how much water news you retained from 2022.

If you’ve been keeping up with the news on SJV Water, this should be a piece of cake.

If not, well…you have a whole new year to remedy that.

Remember, no cheating with the Google machine (clicking the conveniently provided hyperlinks to SJV Water stories, however, is always permissible).

And if you’re one of those crazy water geeks who loves a fun challenge, you can always retake SJV Water’s Pop Quiz from last year.

 

QUESTIONS:

1. Groundwater plans covering WHICH subbasins in the San Joaquin Valley were deemed “incomplete” by the Department of Water Resources in January 2022?
   A. Madera
   B. Merced
   C. Tulare Lake
   D. Kern
   E. Kings
   F. Delta-Mendota
   G. Chowchilla
   H. Kaweah
   I. Tule
   J. Westside
   K. B through J
   L. All of the above

 

2. How many wells were reported as going dry in California and the San Joaquin Valley (including Kern, Kings, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Merced and Stanislaus counties) in 2022?
   A. ~ 1,400 state, 1,017 SJV
   B. ~ 5,000 state, 2,800 SJV
   C. ~ 2,800 state, 1,400 SJV

 

3. Who is Tom Birmingham?
   A. Darth Vader’s alternate personality
   B. Longtime manager of Westlands Water District who resigned in 2022
   C. Chair of the state Water Board

 

4. What is a GSP?
   A. A hiking app that calculates oxygen saturation at high altitudes.
   B. Text shorthand for “GASP!”
   C. A groundwater sustainability plan

 

5. Which of these is NOT an actual ongoing fracas between Kings County’s two largest farming companies – J.G. Boswell and Sandridge Partners, run by John Vidovich?
   A. Boswell parked bulldozers on canal banks to stop Vidovich from digging a trench beneath the canal.
   B. Vidovich sued Boswell for allegedly “buzzing” cattle on Vidovich land in a helicopter and causing a stampede.
   C. Boswell has accused Vidovich of moving groundwater out of Kings County in “hidden” operations.
   D. Vidovich has accused Boswell of helping sink an entire town by overpumping groundwater.
   E. None of the above.

 

6. How much is the Indian Wells Groundwater Authority (in the Kern County high desert) going to pay for water rights to 750 acre feet from a seller in the San Joaquin Valley?
   A. $5,000 per acre foot
   B. $8,500 per acre foot
   C. $2,000 per acre foot

 

6.5 BONUS point for naming the entity through which Indian Wells is buying those water rights.
A. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
B. The Wonderful Company, owned by Lynda and Stewart Resnick
C. The Dudley Ridge Water District in Kings County 

 

7. What is the Mendota Pool?
   A. The confluence of the Kings and San Joaquin rivers in western Fresno County.
   B. A brand of menthol cigarettes that went bankrupt in the 1980s.
   C. A pooled state and federal funding source for water projects in western Fresno County.

 

8. What does AEM stand for?
   A. Airborne Electromagnetic
   B. Altitude Energy Matrix
   C. Association of Equipment Managers

 

 

9. Which major water-related construction project got underway in the San Joaquin Valley in January 2022?

A. The Mendota Pool bypass on the San Joaquin River.
B. Repairs on the Friant-Kern Canal, which had sunk along 33 miles due to groundwater overpumping.
C. Temperance Flat dam in the foothills above Millerton Lake.

 

10. Why is the Friant Water Supply Protection Association fighting the Del Puerto reservoir being proposed by the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors?
    A. The Friant group is worried the reservoir will use up all the water from a creek they have rights to
    B. The Friant group doesn’t believe the Exchange Contractors have a right to store their federal contract water.
    C. The Friant group is worried the Exchange Contractors will store water in wet years and still call on Millerton Lake water in dry years cutting into the Friant group’s share.
    D. B and C

 

10.5 BONUS point for naming the notorious and slippery California outlaw who used an old trail at the mouth the Del Puerto Canyon to sneak his gang to safety?
A. Joaquin Murrieta
B. James “Whitey” Bulger
C. Charles “Tex” Watson

 

ANSWERS

1. K (Trick question! The Madera subbasin groundwater plan was also found “incomplete,” but that wasn’t announced until September 2022)
2. C
3. B
4. C
5. E
6. B, 6.5. C
7. A
8. A
9. B
10. D, 10.5. A

 

 

SCORING: Give yourself 1 point for each correct answer

0-2: TOURIST. Welcome to California. BTW, we have water issues.

3-5: DAMP. You’re catching on.

6-9: ALL IN. Watch out, this could become an obsession.

10+: DUNKER. Congrats! You are officially no fun at parties.