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Residents in small Tulare County towns take brunt of historic flooding

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Tulare County’s two main reservoirs both “filled and spilled” after the latest series of atmospheric rivers slammed into California starting March 10. The storms dumped rain on the San Joaquin Valley floor and melted at least some of the historic snowpack in upper elevations, swelling rivers and streams that flooded out residents of numerous communities. …
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Lake Isabella may be the next to “fill and spill” as it is continues filling rapidly

• by Lois Henry
Lake Isabella could be the next Central Valley reservoir to “fill and spill” as it is rising rapidly, with an estimated two million acre feet of water hunkered down in a record high snowpack and more storms coming. The Kaweah and Success reservoirs in Tulare County have already reached that point, Success releasing water from…
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Water lingo 101

• by Lois Henry
There’s a lot cfs talk being thrown around as rivers and creeks swell with recent storms. It occurred to me that maybe not everyone knows that CFS means. I didn’t when I first started covering water. Even if you know it means “cubic feet per second,” how does that help you understand what’s happening in…
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Kern River outflow from Lake Isabella is ramping up but, no, it is not a “flood release”

• by Lois Henry
Outflow from Lake Isabella into the Kern River increased on Tuesday but only because downriver users requested the water, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay. Outflow went from about 500 cubic feet per second (cfs) Monday to 1,013 cfs by 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hourly reservoir reports…
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Damage from “severe breach” of Friant-Kern Canal construction at Deer Creek difficult to assess

• by Lois Henry
An unfinished section of the new Friant-Kern Canal suffered a “severe breach” at Deer Creek in Tulare County Friday night as the normally dry creek swelled with rain and snowmelt and overran its banks into the construction zone. “This was worse than the one before,” said Johnny Amaral, Chief Operating Officer of the Friant Water…
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How did two valley groundwater plans win recommendations for approval from the state?

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Most groundwater plans covering the San Joaquin Valley got a big, fat thumbs down from the state. There were two glaring exceptions. Plans by the Westlands Water District and Kings subbasin, which together cover most of the valley portion of Fresno County, got recommendations for approval from the Department of Water Resources. Those areas face…
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Regs relaxed for storing flood water

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Governor Gavin Newsom is hoping to see the deluge from the ongoing storms socked away for dry times by making it easier to recharge underground aquifers.  The governor issued an executive order Friday suspending some regulatory requirements to divert flood water for groundwater recharge. The hope is to recharge as much water as possible since…
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State rejects six San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans, which could bring enforcement action

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry, SJV Water
Six San Joaquin Valley groundwater agencies learned Thursday they could be subject to state enforcement action if they don’t redo plans to bring their aquifers back into balance. In its final determinations, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) said the inadequate plans either didn’t do enough to protect water quality, allowed for too much continued…
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