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Farmland repurposing bill passes state Senate committee

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
A bill that would create a program to help growers find other uses for farmland idled because of groundwater pumping restrictions won approval by a Senate committee, bringing it closer to the Governor’s desk. AB 252, known as the multibenefit land repurposing incentive program, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee August 26. The bill, authored by…
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Bill aimed at repurposing farmland is a step closer to passing

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
Lawmakers may be close to passing a bill aimed at helping farmers cope with water restrictions. Assembly Bill 252, the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Incentive Program, would set up a program under the California Department of Conservation to use grant money for repurposing former ag land in critically over drafted groundwater basins. The bill was authored…
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Valley rivers going dry

• by Lois Henry
Southern San Joaquin Valley Rivers are running at near historic lows — again. In fact, the Bakersfield City Council passed a resolution Wednesday officially declaring the Kern River as running at only 17% of normal, it’s second driest year since record keeping began in 1893. The driest year on record was 2015, the worst year…
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Drought brings torrent of media attention to the Central Valley

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
The drought in California is making headlines every day across the country, and for good reason: Almost the entire state is in severe drought. And the whole San Joaquin Valley is experiencing extreme or exceptional drought, the two worst categories. As journalists set their sights on California, many news stories highlight impacts on farmers, particularly…
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Madera ranchers circle the wagons over county groundwater plan

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
Central Valley cattle ranchers are gearing up for a fight against what they see as groundwater rustling. Their fear is that newly formed groundwater agencies in some areas could devalue their land by not giving them a fair share of their own groundwater. Ranchers believe those fears were realized on June 8 when the Madera…
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Bills to fund canal repairs moving forward

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
California’s canals are sinking. Excessive groundwater pumping has collapsed the land beneath several key canals, crimping their ability to move water. Fixing them will be expensive. There are two bills moving through the state Legislature and Congress that could provide some funding. This is the second try for the state bill, Senate Bill 559 by…
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SJV on VPR!

• by Lois Henry
Valley Public Radio in Fresno interviewed me about SJV Water’s story on subsidence in Corcoran that ran in the New York Times. TAKE A LISTEN!…
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Search for groundwater gets high-tech boost

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
Groundwater is one of the hottest ticket items in California’s water world these days. But much about it is a mystery. Where is it? How does it move? Which are the best spots to percolate water into the ground for storage? At least two technologies hope to answer some of those questions: airborne electromagnetic surveys…
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Will climate change alter water rights?

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
The specter of climate change isn’t just impacting weather, it could also change California water rights, according to experts who spoke at this year’s annual Water Summit put on by the Water Association of Kern County. The May 25 virtual event included a host of experts who caught attendees up on the latest information about…
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