california water Archives - Page 5 of 22

SGMA

Court pauses groundwater fees in Madera County; throws regional plans into question

December 9, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Farmers in Madera County successfully blocked a key groundwater fee that could upend plans to bring that region’s aquifer into balance per a state mandate. A Madera County Superior Court judge issued a temporary injunction on the county’s fee of $246 per farm unit acre on Dec. 7. That fee was the underpinning for a…

Groundwater

Kings County passes law to keep its groundwater from being sold beyond its borders

November 29, 2022

• by Lois Henry

In an attempt to stop groundwater from being mined and sold beyond its borders, the Kings County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance Nov. 29 that will require anyone moving groundwater outside of Kings to get a permit. That includes groundwater pumped to backfill for surface supplies that farmers or water districts export out of…

Personalities

Long-serving, controversial manager of Westlands Water District resigns

November 23, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Longtime Westlands Water District General Manager Tom Birmingham announced Nov. 23 that he will retire as of Dec. 31. “I am retiring with extreme pride in the things Westlands had accomplished over the last two decades,” he wrote in an email announcement. Birmingham had faced the likelihood that a newly-elected majority on the Westlands board…

dams • Rivers

A massive effort – restoring the San Joaquin River

November 22, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The San Joaquin River is a vital source of water for agriculture and the environment and it is also home to a unique program that hopes to restore native fish runs. It is a complex program and SJV Water was fortunate to take advantage of a tour offered through the Water Education Foundation Nov. 2-3…

dams

Question of water rights looms over controversial proposed new dam

November 21, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A controversial proposed dam seems to have a new pathway forward. But how far will it get through California’s byzantine world of water rights? Nobody seems to agree on an answer. The Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir is a joint project between the Del Puerto Water District and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor Authority on…

Groundwater • SGMA

State water agency wades into lawsuit to maintain its authority over groundwater plans

November 18, 2022

• by Rose Horowitch, SJV Water reporting intern

A lawsuit over groundwater plans in the northern end of the San Joaquin Valley is being closely watched as it could have implications for how the state’s groundwater mandate moves forward, according to a recent briefing on the issue at the Kern Groundwater Authority. At the Nov. 16 meeting, authority attorney Valerie Kincaid explained that…

dams

Proposed Central Valley dam likely to move forward after judge’s ruling

November 5, 2022

• by Jesse Vad and Rose Horowitch, SJV Water

Both sides of a controversial proposed Central Valley dam hailed a Nov. 3 court ruling kicking back the project’s environmental documents as a success. A Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge ruled there was insufficient information about a road relocation that is part of the proposed Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir project, which would sit just above…

Rivers

VIDEO: How the lower Kern River is divvied up

October 23, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Flows on the lower Kern River are split up among a hydra of canals starting just west of Hart Park. We talk with local experts who explain who owns those canals and where the water goes under the Law of the River. There’s a lot to learn so we’re splitting the lower Kern into two…

Drinking Water • Drought

Water debt doubles for residents of tiny, impoverished west Fresno County towns

October 20, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Water debt has ballooned to nearly double what it was last year in Cantua Creek and El Porvenir, two small towns in western Fresno County where nearly half the residents live in poverty. The towns were supposed to be getting water from two new wells by now but the project hasn’t been completed so they’ve…

SGMA

Boswell-Vidovich water war blows up over groundwater

October 12, 2022

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry, SJV Water

A long simmering water war between Kings County’s two biggest farming entities blew up Wednesday over groundwater when the state rejected the region’s plan to shore up its declining aquifer. The fallout could be significant if the state pursues enforcement, which could include pumping limits, steep fines and fees for all groundwater users in the…

NEWS

Court pauses groundwater fees in Madera County; throws regional plans into question

Kings County passes law to keep its groundwater from being sold beyond its borders

Long-serving, controversial manager of Westlands Water District resigns

A massive effort – restoring the San Joaquin River

Question of water rights looms over controversial proposed new dam

State water agency wades into lawsuit to maintain its authority over groundwater plans

Proposed Central Valley dam likely to move forward after judge’s ruling

VIDEO: How the lower Kern River is divvied up

Water debt doubles for residents of tiny, impoverished west Fresno County towns

Boswell-Vidovich water war blows up over groundwater

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