california water Archives - Page 15 of 22

Proposed groundwater bank sparks legal challenge

August 17, 2021

• by Lois Henry

A battle of groundwater banks is underway in Kern County with accusations that one is poised to mine the local aquifer and sell water outside the area. The two main combatants are the massive Kern Water Bank, which covers 32-square miles straddling Interstate 5 west of Bakersfield, and the Buena Vista Water Storage District, which…

Personalities

The face of California’s water world is changing

August 16, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

In California’s water world, long dominated almost exclusively by men, women are blazing a path — sometimes straight to the top. “I think water is changing,” said Karla Nemeth, director of California’s Department of Water Resources. “There’s more and more of an understanding that as a society and even politically, we’re not going to get…

Drought

Tulare County officials say state red tape made water crisis, suffering worse for Teviston

July 25, 2021

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry

This story was reported and written by Jesse Vad, SJV Water intern and Lois Henry, SJV Water CEO. It was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is allowed 48 hours after initial posting. The state’s response to the water crisis that gripped tiny Teviston, California earlier this summer should…

Drought • Friant-Kern Canal • Rivers

Endangered salmon program waiting, watching for possible call on Millertion water

July 21, 2021

• by Lois Henry

As the summer grinds on, farms, towns and a critical native salmon restoration program that all rely on water from Millerton Lake near Fresno continue to hope their water won’t be needed to fulfill irrigation contracts further up the San Joaquin Valley. But in this parched year, nothing is certain. If water is required out…

Friant-Kern Canal

State ponies up $100 million toward $2.35 billion repair bill for major canals

July 16, 2021

• by Lois Henry

Several of the state’s key canals will get a sprinkle of state money this year and next toward fixing more than $2 billion in damage caused by sinking land from excessive groundwater pumping. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a massive budget “trailer” bill, which authorizes actual funding for programs and services outlined in the…

Personalities

“Silver tsunami” could open doors to California’s top water jobs

July 6, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Job alert: The Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District, which serves nearly 30,000 acres of farms in Kern County, is hiring a new general manager. But what exactly does the general manager of an irrigation district do? It’s a question that isn’t easily answered, even by water executives themselves. “I found it very hard to describe what I…

Rivers

Kern River memories, photos sought

July 6, 2021

• by Lois Henry

The grassroots group Bring Back the Kern has launched a new public awareness campaign to pluck residents’ memories of a flowing river through Bakersfield. Bring Back the Kern, formed in 2020, advocates finding ways for water to flow through the Kern River channel through town on a more frequent and consistent basis. The group has…

Personalities

Longtime Tule River Water Master Richard L. Schafer dies at 95

July 2, 2021

• by Lois Henry

Richard L. Schafer left an “indelible” imprint on water systems — and the people who run them — in the southern San Joaquin Valley over his extensive career. The longtime Tule River Water Master, who had worked with just about every agricultural water district in the area, died Thursday. He was 95. Aside from his…

Drinking Water • Drought • Groundwater

State still hasn’t fixed Porterville drinking water crisis from the last drought. Will residents go dry again?

June 30, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

The epicenter of dry wells during California’s last devastating drought was undoubtedly Porterville. The small Tulare County town saw wells go dry enmasse in its unincorporated east side. It became a national headline as the media descended. Amid the glare of tv cameras, the state pledged to help and agreed to build three new wells….

Federal System • Floods • Groundwater • State System • Water Banking

Lawsuit claims Kern County Water Agency shorted a key local canal’s volume

June 30, 2021

• by Lois Henry

The Cross Valley Canal is a key cog in the southern San Joaquin Valley’s water machinery. It moves water east and west between the California Aqueduct along Kern County’s western edge to the Kern County Water Agency’s facilities near Manor Street in Bakersfield. Along the way, it also connects with the federally owned Friant-Kern Canal,…

NEWS

Proposed groundwater bank sparks legal challenge

The face of California’s water world is changing

Tulare County officials say state red tape made water crisis, suffering worse for Teviston

Endangered salmon program waiting, watching for possible call on Millertion water

State ponies up $100 million toward $2.35 billion repair bill for major canals

“Silver tsunami” could open doors to California’s top water jobs

Kern River memories, photos sought

Longtime Tule River Water Master Richard L. Schafer dies at 95

State still hasn’t fixed Porterville drinking water crisis from the last drought. Will residents go dry again?

Lawsuit claims Kern County Water Agency shorted a key local canal’s volume

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