central valley Archives - Page 14 of 27

Gov. Newsom’s drought order brings ag well activity to a standstill in some areas

April 14, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Valley groundwater agencies are mired in confusion and concern over Gov. Newsom’s March 28 executive drought order, which added new steps for permitting agricultural wells, according to agencies’ staff. As groundwater agency managers scramble to hash out exactly how to comply with the order, well permits in some areas are stuck in limbo leaving well…

Drinking Water • Drought

A glimmer of hope in one small town’s long struggle for clean water

April 12, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The tiny community of Tooleville on the edge of the valley floor in Tulare County is finally beginning the process of getting clean drinking water from the nearby City of Exeter. And last month, the state announced a proposed standard for hexavalent chromium, which is in Tooleville’s water. Without a safety standard for hexavalent chromium…

Federal System

When ag water is short, it’s good to be a San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor

April 4, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Even as most agricultural water supplies are being cut to the bone with California descending into a third year of extreme drought, the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor districts will apparently receive 100% of their “critical year” allotment – 650,000 acre feet. The move is just one of the quirks in California’s byzantine world water…

Groundwater • Personalities

Judge’s order stops a Kings County pipeline, the focus of just one battle in the ongoing Boswell-Vidovich water war

April 4, 2022

• by Lois Henry

A Kings County judge issued a preliminary injunction Monday stopping a 48-inch water pipeline from cutting through the Tulare Lake Canal. The decision comes several months after J.G. Boswell, which controls the Tulare Lake Canal Company, blockaded the canal with bulldozers and excavators to keep the pipeline, owned by Sandridge Partners, which is controlled by…

Drought

Kern River snow watcher’s report shows below average year

April 3, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Amateur, but thorough, snow watcher Scott Williams released his monthly “Kern River Snow and Water Report” April 2 and the news is subpar. Annual runoff from the watershed is anticipated to be 33% of average this year based on the paltry snow pack left following the significantly dry January, February and March months. Williams compiles…

Groundwater • Personalities

Judge in Boswell-Vidovich battle says she can’t “stretch” laws to keep groundwater from leaving Kings County

April 2, 2022

• by Lois Henry

A pair of lawsuits focused on trespass and environmental issues surrounding construction of a 48-inch water pipeline in Kings County are, in many ways, just a token of a much larger issue: Groundwater leaving the county, a judge noted on Friday. “The fact that groundwater is an issue in this county isn’t disputed,” Judge Valerie…

Drought

Gov. Newsom’s drought order aims to slow ag well drilling

April 1, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

New wells for agriculture will be more difficult to drill in the San Joaquin Valley under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order in response to the ongoing drought. Part of the order prohibits new wells from being drilled without approval from local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA) first. The GSAs must determine that new wells or…

SGMA

Groundwater agencies at the epicenter of sinking beneath the Friant-Kern Canal have restricted pumping, raised fees in hopes of curbing water table free fall

March 29, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Three Tulare County groundwater agencies that cover areas with severe subsidence due to over pumping spent the last year implementing programs to stem that tide and collected more than $11 million in the process. The Lower Tule River Irrigation District, Pixley Irrigation District and Eastern Tule groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA) are among the first to…

Personalities

Decision in Boswell-Vidovich pipeline fight set for April 1

March 24, 2022

• by Lois Henry

A Kings County Superior Court Judge will decide April 1 whether a large water pipeline barreling from Lemoore southwest past Stratford must be reviewed under the state’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Regardless of that decision, the full-blown water war that has erupted between Sandridge Partners or J.G. Boswell Company, who are behind this and…

Friant-Kern Canal

Friant-Kern Canal fix gets first infusion of state money

March 24, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The state gave its first shot of cash – $29.8 million – toward fixing the sagging Friant-Kern Canal on Thursday. Another $7.4 million could be added to the pot once the Friant Water Authority, which operates the canal, secures federal funding it is seeking. That would bring this year’s full contribution from the state Department…

NEWS

Gov. Newsom’s drought order brings ag well activity to a standstill in some areas

A glimmer of hope in one small town’s long struggle for clean water

When ag water is short, it’s good to be a San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor

Judge’s order stops a Kings County pipeline, the focus of just one battle in the ongoing Boswell-Vidovich water war

Kern River snow watcher’s report shows below average year

Judge in Boswell-Vidovich battle says she can’t “stretch” laws to keep groundwater from leaving Kings County

Gov. Newsom’s drought order aims to slow ag well drilling

Groundwater agencies at the epicenter of sinking beneath the Friant-Kern Canal have restricted pumping, raised fees in hopes of curbing water table free fall

Decision in Boswell-Vidovich pipeline fight set for April 1

Friant-Kern Canal fix gets first infusion of state money

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