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Valley residents already struggling with dry wells faced another problem this summer: Superheated tank water

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
First their wells went dry. Then this summer’s brutal heat wave made water in emergency storage tanks so scalding hot, some valley residents had to siphon it into containers and let it cool before it could be used. “We’re very grateful to even have the tanks,” stressed Merideth Moreno, who lives near the small Tulare…
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State puts second San Joaquin Valley groundwater basin on probation, with two exceptions

• by Lisa McEwen and Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Farmers in southern Tulare County will face greater pumping scrutiny after the state placed the region on probation following a lengthy hearing in Sacramento Sept. 17. State Water Resources Control Board members acknowledged a new groundwater plan submitted by water managers in August had made great strides in many areas. But the big sticking point…
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Rural Kings County families have a 50-50 chance their well is contaminated with nitrates

• by Monserrat Solis, California Local News Fellow
Editor’s note: Monserrat Solis covers Kings County water issues for SJV Water through the California Local News Fellowship initiative. There’s about a 50-50 chance the tap water that 10,000 rural Kings County residents are drinking is contaminated with nitrates. That’s a type of salt that can be toxic, even lethal to newborns, causing what’s commonly…
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Extreme, prolonged heat is straining drinking water wells throughout the San Joaquin Valley

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Despite back-to-back good water years, domestic wells are still drying up all across the valley as record breaking heat waves pummel the region.  The state saw slightly above average runoff for the 2023-2024 water year with significant precipitation and major reservoirs largely above average levels. That’s on top of an epic 2022-2023 water year. The…
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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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