drought Archives - Page 11 of 16

Drought

Busy Interstate 5 stop won’t go dry, but the water will be pricey

January 14, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The popular motorist pitstop town of Kettleman City has sealed a deal to keep from running out of water. Kings County officials finalized a deal with the Mojave Water Agency this week to purchase 235 acre feet of water for Kettleman City from the southern California water agency at a cost of $1,400 per acre…

Uncategorized

FRIDAY POP QUIZ: Test your California water smarts

January 7, 2022

• by Lois Henry

It’s a new year and time to take stock. By that I mean, I’m super busy doing tons of paperwork for taxes and fundraisers and board meetings and haven’t had time to write. So, please enjoy this short WATER QUIZ (no cheating on the Google machine!) and feel free to talk among yourselves. 1. What…

State System

State’s early zero-water-for-ag projection could have far reaching implications

December 13, 2021

• by Lois Henry

Storms hammering California this week will likely bump up the state’s Dec. 1 projection of zero water for agricultural contractors. But questions about how and why the Department of Water Resources made that projection – and what it means for the future – have left an unsettled wake among San Joaquin Valley agricultural water districts…

Rivers

Battle for Kern River water goes deep into rights, history

December 10, 2021

• by Lois Henry

The state hearing on whether there is “loose” water on the Kern River got started Thursday and was quickly snared in a thicket of procedural issues, arcane water rights and water diversion practices. After two very full days of testimony and legal wrangling, the upshot is that there is no upshot, just yet. Administrative Hearing…

SGMA

State warns more valley groundwater agencies their plans aren’t up to snuff

December 9, 2021

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry

Six subbasins covering nearly all of the central and southern San Joaquin Valley do not have adequate plans to address falling groundwater levels, according to letters sent Thursday by the Department of Water Resources to groundwater agencies within those subbasins. Subbasins with plans not likely to pass muster include the Delta-Mendota, Kaweah, Kern County, Kings,…

Rivers

Tribes want a say in Colorado River policy

December 8, 2021

• by Michael Elizabeth Sakas, Colorado Public Radio

This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), California Health Report, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, Circle of Blue, Colorado Public Radio, Columbia Insight, The Counter, High Country News, New Mexico In Depth and SJV Water. The project was made possible by a grant from the Water Foundation…

Drinking Water • Drought

VIDEO: How some valley residents cope as their homes teeter on the brink of going dry

December 6, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

SJV Water reporting trainee Jesse Vad traveled to rural Fairmeade and Toolville to talk to residents about what it’s like to live under the constant possibility of their homes going dry as groundwater tables dropped at the height of the 2021 drought….