drought Archives - Page 7 of 16

Policy

Speaker: Government control creeping ever further into water rights

September 27, 2022

• by Lois Henry

In a fast-paced trip through the evolution of California’s water rights, attorney Valerie Kincaid explained how the system has gone from the “wild, wild west” to one pervaded by ever greater government creep. By expanding its authorities under what had been thought of as several limited court decisions, state government is now essentially dictating operations…

The Law of the River

VIDEO: The “intertie” marks the end of the line for the Kern River but it still has an important role in the law of the river

September 20, 2022

• by Lois Henry

This is the fourth video in our series explaining how the Kern River operates, who owns it and where its waters go. In this video, we look at the “intertie,” which marks the end of the river as it meets the California Aqueduct west of Bakersfield. This highly unassuming looking piece of infrastructure was built…

Drought

Some parks get water, others dead fish – it’s all tied up in drought and Kern River history

September 13, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The drying lakes at the Park at River Walk and along Truxtun Avenue have stirred a lot of controversy over the impact to wildlife but also over what people see as a lopsided division of pain during this very painful drought. Why are City of Bakersfield water features going dry while lakes, a golf course…

Personalities

Challenger for seat on powerful Kern water board “withdraws,” at least in spirit

September 12, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Would-be challenger Eric Averett said he is “withdrawing” from the race for a seat on the powerful Kern County Water Agency board of directors. His name will still appear on the ballot, however. Averett said he couldn’t get his name off the ballot as the deadline to do so had already passed when he decided…

Groundwater • Personalities

Fallout from Kings County water war continues as state mulls groundwater plan

August 29, 2022

• by Lois Henry

There’s no word, yet, of state intervention in the ongoing water war between two of Kings County’s largest growers – John Vidovich and the J.G. Boswell Company – but there has been fallout. Kimberly Brown, a board member of the Southwest Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency, resigned August 10 in protest of last-minute language added to…

Drinking Water • Drought

State funding brings small San Joaquin Valley town closer to long-term drinking water solution

August 26, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The two-street town of Tooleville finally saw significant progress in a decades-long quest for clean drinking water this week when the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced $7.2 million in funding for an interim connection project. Tooleville will be hooked up to the nearby city of Exeter’s water system, something advocates and Tooleville residents…

Drought • Rivers

VIDEO: How California’s worst drought brought part of a Central Valley river back to life – briefly

August 17, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The San Joaquin River was dried up decades ago when the federal Bureau of Reclamation built Friant Dam north of Fresno to bring water to farms and towns along the east side of the San Joaquin Valley via the Friant-Kern Canal. A federally mandated salmon restoration program reconnected the river for a short time, but…

Drinking Water

SJV water managers know the pain of slow state response to failing water systems

August 3, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Water managers in the San Joaquin Valley who regularly work with residents of poor, rural communities facing water insecurity are applauding last month’s sharply critical audit of the state Water Resources Control Board. The California State Auditor’s report found a serious lack of urgency on the part of the water board, which is tasked with…

Personalities • SGMA

Latest blow in Boswell-Vidovich water war could bring state control over region’s groundwater

July 25, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The latest blow in an ongoing water war between two Kings County agricultural titans may put control of the entire region’s groundwater into state hands. The J.G. Boswell Farming Company and Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich, have been scuffling over water in court, on ditch banks and even in the air with accusations on…

Drought

Going, going….water at some of Bakersfield’s most popular parks is almost gone

July 19, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The lake at the Park at River Walk is fast disappearing, as are the Truxtun Lakes and some other city-owned water features. Blame the drought. The City of Bakersfield Water Resources Department has cut off flows to city-owned recreation and water recharge facilities to hold on to what little surface water it’s receiving from the…

NEWS

Speaker: Government control creeping ever further into water rights

VIDEO: The “intertie” marks the end of the line for the Kern River but it still has an important role in the law of the river

Some parks get water, others dead fish – it’s all tied up in drought and Kern River history

Challenger for seat on powerful Kern water board “withdraws,” at least in spirit

Fallout from Kings County water war continues as state mulls groundwater plan

State funding brings small San Joaquin Valley town closer to long-term drinking water solution

VIDEO: How California’s worst drought brought part of a Central Valley river back to life – briefly

SJV water managers know the pain of slow state response to failing water systems

Latest blow in Boswell-Vidovich water war could bring state control over region’s groundwater

Going, going….water at some of Bakersfield’s most popular parks is almost gone

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