california Archives - Page 2 of 27

Judge orders Bakersfield to keep water in the Kern River

October 30, 2023

• by Lois Henry

In what one attorney called a “moment of truth” for the City of Bakersfield, a judge ordered the city to keep enough water in the normally dry Kern River to protect fish populations. The 21-page preliminary injunction was issued by Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp Monday afternoon. Colin Pearce, who represents the city…

SGMA • Uncategorized

Farmers fighting farmers over pumping allocations as Kaweah subbasin prepares for state scrutiny

October 6, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Groundwater relations in the Kaweah subbasin in Tulare County have gone from bad to worse. Fingers have been pointed, ultimatums laid down and patience has run out. At its Sept. 26 meeting, the Greater Kaweah GSA board accepted a recommendation to allocate 1.87 acre feet of groundwater per acre to its farmers for the 2023-24…

Rivers • Uncategorized

Court to consider cutting water diversions out of Kern River

October 3, 2023

• by Lois Henry

A preliminary injunction that could cut water being taken out of the Kern River if those diversions are harmful to fish will be taken up Friday, October 13 in a Kern County courtroom. The request for the injunction was filed in August by a group of entities suing the City of Bakersfield for what it…

Drought

Tooleville tank springs a leak, temporarily shutting off water to the beleaguered Tulare County town

June 16, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

On top of all its other water woes, the tiny town of Tooleville temporarily lost water entirely Friday after one of its aging storage tanks sprang a leak. This is just the latest in a string of water issues that have plagued the rural Tulare County community for decades. Tooleville’s two wells have repeatedly run…

Drinking Water • Drought • Floods

Domestic wells still going dry in San Joaquin Valley towns as historically low groundwater levels are slow to rebound

June 8, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The small town of Tooleville ran out of water and started receiving water hauled in by truck on June 5. It’s the first time the town has needed hauled water since October of 2022. Despite the historic snowpack and storms this year, groundwater levels in some areas are still low and wells are still going…

Groundwater

San Joaquin Valley groundwater will need more than one epic water year to rebound in the long term

June 7, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

With all the flooding, runoff and more snowmelt still to come, everyone’s wondering: How’s the groundwater? Short answer: Better. Long answer: It’s going to take more than one good water year to reach sustainability. After decades of over pumping and two severe, multi-year droughts within five years of each other, San Joaquin Valley aquifers had…

Floods

Floodwater is filled with icky stuff but won’t likely hurt drinking water long term

May 12, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Floodwater covering parts of the San Joaquin Valley is nasty – filled with animal and septic waste, road oil and other grunge from whatever it’s washed over. Swimming in it is definitely not advised. But over the long term, experts don’t think it will harm groundwater, which is where most valley residents get their drinking…

Floods • Uncategorized

Kern River “orphan channel” could pose problems during the big melt

April 24, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Kern River flood channel that heads north to the old Tulare Lake bed from Highway 46 is decidedly not ready for what may become massive runoff. It’s a thicket of trees and shrubs and its banks are a weedy, trash strewn mess. But figuring out who’s in charge of clearing out that 16-mile stretch…

Floods • Uncategorized

Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County will remain mostly dry and continue being farmed by the J.G. Boswell Company despite the coming, epic snow melt. But unlike in Kings County where Boswell has been taking heat for continuing to farm parts of the old Tulare Lake bed while others have been flooded…

Floods • Uncategorized

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

It isn’t just water that’s been barreling down the Kern River in this historic water year. Trees, shrubs, trash – even old appliances – have come swirling down the river bed, plucked out by heavy equipment and piled on the banks in massive heaps. City of Bakersfield crews, along with other agencies, worked round the…

NEWS

Judge orders Bakersfield to keep water in the Kern River

Farmers fighting farmers over pumping allocations as Kaweah subbasin prepares for state scrutiny

Court to consider cutting water diversions out of Kern River

Tooleville tank springs a leak, temporarily shutting off water to the beleaguered Tulare County town

Domestic wells still going dry in San Joaquin Valley towns as historically low groundwater levels are slow to rebound

San Joaquin Valley groundwater will need more than one epic water year to rebound in the long term

Floodwater is filled with icky stuff but won’t likely hurt drinking water long term

Kern River “orphan channel” could pose problems during the big melt

Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

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