NEWS

Local water watcher Scott Williams put out his monthly Kern River watershed report Tuesday and the outlook is skimpy without more storms before May. Williams compiles stats from a number of publicly available sources, including state electronic snow sensors, called “pillows,” stashed in the upper reaches of the watershed and compares them to historic trends….
Southern California’s reliance on Kern County’s prolific groundwater banks for drought insurance could be jeopardized by a chemical known as 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP). The cancer-causing agent has been found in several large groundwater banking operations in Kern and a first look at how much it may cost to clean up is a doozy. Up to $465…
A proposed Kern County groundwater bank that would be partially funded with $87 million in Proposition 1 money for new water storage, may have to deal with contamination before it spreads its first drop. The Kern Fan Groundwater Storage Project has not found contamination yet, but is sandwiched between areas that have confirmed 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP),…
by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry, SJV Water
Just before announcing she was switching her quest for reelection from one state Senate district to another, Melissa Hurtado appears to have thrown up a flag announcing her conservative bona fides in what could become a contest of the most right-leaning Democrat. On Feb. 17, Hurtado, who currently represents Sanger, introduced Senate Bill 1219 to…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
A new California dam project you probably haven’t heard of has already passed the initial environmental stages and recently won approval to apply for possible public funding. Predictably, the project has stoked opposition but not all the naysayers are who you might expect.  The Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir project, which would sit in the hilly,…
In the often hard-fought world of archeological preservation, Colin Rambo is counting the McAllister Ranch groundwater project plan as a “win, win, win.” Rambo, an archeologist with the Tejon Tribe, has been working closely with the City of Bakersfield and the two Kern County water districts behind the project to make sure the “significant” Native…
Free water deliveries have started for some San Joaquin Valley residents with nitrate contaminated wells. But advocates worry that nine months into the state’s nitrate control program, outreach has been lacking and not enough wells have been tested. The nitrate control program launched in May of 2021. It offers free water deliveries for residents whose…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
  Tractors, irrigation technology, harvesting machines and more tractors lined the dirt roads of the World Ag Expo in Tulare this week. The world’s largest agriculture exposition took place from February 8-10th and included more than 1,200 exhibitors.  Spread across a 2.6-million-square-foot lot, the expo not only hosted tents of exhibitors showing off their products…
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