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Fish to receive 40% of Kern River flow under judge’s order

• by Lois Henry
A judge’s order signed Tuesday ensures there will be at least some water flowing in the Kern River through Bakersfield in perpetuity. Unless, of course, it’s overturned. Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp signed an order that requires 40% of the Kern River’s flow to remain in the river to keep fish populations healthy….
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One Central Valley dam project gets nearly $95 million in funding; two others still in proposal phase

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Three dam expansion projects could increase water storage for use in the Central Valley by a whopping 304,000 acre feet. Each of the projects would raise existing dams, not build new ones. The project that is furthest along would raise the B.F. Sisk Dam in Merced County to expand San Luis Reservoir storage by 130,000…
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Isabella Dam officially off the No. 1 “at risk” dam list, what will that mean for downstream users?

• by Lois Henry
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially lowered the risk level of Isabella Dam from “highest urgency and risk” to “low urgency” on Thursday. Though an Army Corps spokesman said this means Isabella has returned to “normal operations,” it’s unclear what exactly that will mean for downstream Kern River irrigators as we grind through summer…
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State and federal agencies want fish ladder restored on Merced River

• by Lois Henry
Two powerful state and federal agencies have stuck their toes, so to speak, into an ongoing lawsuit against Merced Irrigation District demanding the district reopen a long defunct fish ladder. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Service both sent letters to Merced Irrigation District after Water Audit California sued the…
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A massive effort – restoring the San Joaquin River

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
The San Joaquin River is a vital source of water for agriculture and the environment and it is also home to a unique program that hopes to restore native fish runs. It is a complex program and SJV Water was fortunate to take advantage of a tour offered through the Water Education Foundation Nov. 2-3…
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Question of water rights looms over controversial proposed new dam

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
A controversial proposed dam seems to have a new pathway forward. But how far will it get through California’s byzantine world of water rights? Nobody seems to agree on an answer.  The Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir is a joint project between the Del Puerto Water District and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor Authority on…
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Central Valley’s two major dam projects moving forward

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
It’s no simple feat to raise a dam.  In fact, it’s taken the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 34 years to get from the first feasibility study to expand the dam at Lake Success in Tulare County to finally getting construction underway. The improvements to Lake Success’ Schafer Dam, named after longtime Tule River watermaster…
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Longtime Tule River Water Master Richard L. Schafer dies at 95

• by Lois Henry
Richard L. Schafer left an “indelible” imprint on water systems — and the people who run them — in the southern San Joaquin Valley over his extensive career. The longtime Tule River Water Master, who had worked with just about every agricultural water district in the area, died Thursday. He was 95. Aside from his…
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