NEWS

by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
New satellite technology could be a critical piece to the future of water trading in the San Joaquin Valley, according to those working on the tech. OpenET, an online platform that uses satellite imagery to estimate how much water is used by different crops, launched publicly on October 21. The platform is already being tested…
by Lois Henry
About 30 hardy souls marched the length of the dry Kern River bed — nine miles — from near Manor Street in east Bakersfield all the way to Stockdale Highway Saturday morning to protest the lack of water in the river. At the start of the hike, the group filled bottles and jugs with water…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
Kettleman City needs $375,000 to keep from going dry, possibly as early as the end of next month. The popular pitstop along Interstate 5 in Kings County between Los Angeles and San Francisco needs 214 acre feet to supply residents and keep its raft of gas stations and fast food joints open. But in this…
In the world of farming, not all crops are equal. That is starkly apparent when looking at how crops changed in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley since the beginning of the last drought, according to county crop reports. While most counties saw reductions in overall harvested acres between 2012 and 2020, they also…
by Lois Henry
It appears a new Kern River Watermaster will be chosen to replace Dana Munn, whose contract winds up at the end of this year. If he’s officially approved by all the voting members of the “river interests,” Mark Mulkay will likely become the fourth ever Kern River Watermaster. He said he’s discussed it with all…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
Demand for snow runoff forecasting is surging in the San Joaquin Valley, particularly after the past bone-dry year. Snow monitoring flights are already being tentatively scheduled by valley water districts ahead of winter. “Everybody’s anxious for the water year,” said Michael Anderson, state climatologist for California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR). “What is it going…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
The west coast was slammed Oct. 24-25 by a bomb cyclone, a historic storm that dumped record breaking levels of precipitation on much of California. The rain came from long streams of moisture called atmospheric rivers. San Francisco recorded more than four inches of rain on October 24, the most for a single October day…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting trainee
Water has become a major roadblock to desperately needed housing in rural communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Water scarcity and lack of infrastructure has scared off developers just when housing is most needed, according to officials and nonprofits that work on both water and housing. “The lack of development interest has a lot to…
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