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Kern subbasin’s third try at groundwater plan fails to avert state enforcement action

• by Lois Henry
Noting that Kern County residents could suffer “urgent impacts” to their drinking water from continued agricultural groundwater overpumping, staff at the state Water Resources Control Board announced Thursday they are recommending the entire Kern subbasin be put on probation. Probation is the first step toward a possible state pumping take over. A hearing before the…
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State celebrates five years and secure water for hundreds of thousands of Californians thanks to the SAFER drinking water program

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
State officials, advocates and residents gathered in Porterville on Monday to celebrate the five-year mark of a state drinking water program born of the crippling 2012-2016 drought. That’s when the entire community of east Porterville went dry – for months. There was no government program available to help and nonprofits could only do so much….
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Protecting domestic wells a key piece of southern Fresno County groundwater agency’s planning

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
CONTENT USE: Republication, or broadcast, of SJV Water content is allowed with use of the reporter’s byline and publication name, SJV Water, and the following tagline: SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Reach us at sjvwater@sjvwater.or                  …
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Okieville water recharge project a “poster child” of partnership to protect residential water

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
More than 40 engineers, landowners, water officials and drinking water advocates gathered along the banks of a full, flowing canal in Tulare County Thursday to inaugurate the Okieville Recharge Basin. But the first order of business on the hot summer day was snow cones.  The 21-acre project is a “poster child” of partnership that will…
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New program to help Kern residents with nitrate-tainted water

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
A new water quality initiative in Kern County is gearing up to go live in the next few months to help residents whose water is contaminated with nitrates. The state’s nitrate control program launched in 2021. It offers free well testing and water deliveries for residents whose wells test over the limit for nitrates. The…
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Regulators took aim at two water contaminants recently. But do regs go far enough or target the right players?

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Water systems will need to comply with new rules on contaminants at the state and federal levels after two regulations were approved this month. That could bring challenging costs to water providers. And still, advocates say protections aren’t good enough.  On April 17, the state Water Resources Control Board passed a maximum contaminant level (MCL)…
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MEETING NOTES: North Kern Water District discusses nitrate compliance options

• by Sonia Lemus, freelance for SJV Water
* “Meeting Notes” is a new feature focused on Kern County water districts, paid for by a grant from the James B. McClatchy Foundation. Please consider supporting SJV Water so we can continue this important coverage. Meeting: North Kern Water Storage District board of directors. Date: January 16, 2024 Agenda and board packet: CLICK HERE…
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Local agencies need more than “words on paper” from the state to help fight drought and flood

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
A Tulare County official who’s faced multiple droughts and devastating floods over the past decade appreciated the California Water Commission’s latest “policy paper” on how best to respond to such calamities but she had some advice of her own for the state: Locals need resources – money, equipment, personnel – not just “words on paper.”…
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