dry wells Archives

Domestic wells still going dry in San Joaquin Valley towns as historically low groundwater levels are slow to rebound

June 8, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The small town of Tooleville ran out of water and started receiving water hauled in by truck on June 5. It’s the first time the town has needed hauled water since October of 2022. Despite the historic snowpack and storms this year, groundwater levels in some areas are still low and wells are still going…

Personalities • Uncategorized

ROOTED IN THE VALLEY: Liset Garcia was set on leaving the valley, but came back to her roots

February 21, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Thank you to SJV Water donors and the James B. McClatchy Foundation for supporting our work. Liset Garcia grew up helping her folks sell freshly grown produce from the San Joaquin Valley in Los Angeles neighborhoods and dreamed of becoming a doctor. Somehow, along the way, the medical student found herself running…

State System

Retiring Delta Watermaster advises “pray for rain” but “plan for drought”

January 6, 2023

• by Rose Horowitch, SJV Water reporting intern

It may be raining now but Michael George, Watermaster for the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta, urged his colleagues at the State Water Resources Control Board to always be planning for drought. “The Delta mantra: we pray for rain; we’re getting it. We plan for drought; it will be back,” George said during his final report before…

Uncategorized

2022: So. Much. Water. News!

December 27, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Here we are nearing the end of another year. And the SJV Water team has been taking stock, reflecting and pondering the accumulation of news and events that made up 2022. (Really, we’re taking some much needed time off and I’m, personally, “checkin’ the snow pack” – code for skiing – and needed to stockpile…

Drinking Water • Drought

Prolonged drought creates tsunami of dry wells in San Joaquin Valley

December 6, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A wave of dry wells has hit the San Joaquin Valley hard this year putting the valley on track to see the most dry wells since the state began tracking that information in 2013. And while wells have dried up throughout the state, the valley is the epicenter of dry wells. As of the end…

Drought

State drought funding will help valley communities fix water problems faster

November 30, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A handful of small valley communities will be able to move more rapidly on water projects thanks to millions in funding recently allocated by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) as part of its water resilience program. DWR awarded $86 million throughout the state. About $44 million of that will go to small communities…

Drought

Some San Joaquin Valley towns pay hefty price to keep taps flowing

October 15, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

–California’s crippling three-year drought is revealing the unique water vulnerabilities of small towns across the San Joaquin Valley. And while the state has stepped in to help impoverished communities and residents whose wells have gone dry due to plummeting groundwater levels, the handful of towns on the valley’s west side that rely on surface supplies…

SGMA

Madera groundwater plans kicked back by state for not protecting domestic wells, ignoring subsidence

September 22, 2022

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry, SJV Water

The state kicked Madera County groundwater plans back for a redo on Thursday, noting, in particular, that they had set water levels so low it could endanger hundreds of domestic wells. The plans also all but ignored ongoing damage to roads, bridges and canals caused by sinking land, subsidence, opting mostly to “monitor” the situation….

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…

Policy

PANEL: Valley pols to give water update

July 7, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The Water Association of Kern County is hosting a water legislation update panel discussion and luncheon July 26 at 11:30 a.m. in the Renegade Room at Bakersfield College. State Senators Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) and Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) along with Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) will discuss a number of bills and statewide initiatives impacting water issues…

NEWS

Domestic wells still going dry in San Joaquin Valley towns as historically low groundwater levels are slow to rebound

ROOTED IN THE VALLEY: Liset Garcia was set on leaving the valley, but came back to her roots

Retiring Delta Watermaster advises “pray for rain” but “plan for drought”

2022: So. Much. Water. News!

Prolonged drought creates tsunami of dry wells in San Joaquin Valley

State drought funding will help valley communities fix water problems faster

Some San Joaquin Valley towns pay hefty price to keep taps flowing

Madera groundwater plans kicked back by state for not protecting domestic wells, ignoring subsidence

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

PANEL: Valley pols to give water update

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