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Kern County makes river flood maps available to the public

• by Lois Henry
The Kern River is rising fast and, so far, the public hasn’t been given very good information on the one question on everyone’s mind: Where’s it going to flood? Wednesday, the Kern County Office of Emergency Services put out detailed, locally built maps that attempt to answer that question under various flow scenarios. The upshot…
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The big melt: San Joaquin Valley eyes historic snowpack with trepidation

• by Lois Henry
It’s unlikely that all the snow looming above the San Joaquin Valley will melt and barrel toward the valley floor at the same time. If history is a guide, the melt should be staggered between the San Joaquin, Kings, Tule and Kern river watersheds starting later this month through July. “That’s good,” said California Department…
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Residents in small Tulare County towns take brunt of historic flooding

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Tulare County’s two main reservoirs both “filled and spilled” after the latest series of atmospheric rivers slammed into California starting March 10. The storms dumped rain on the San Joaquin Valley floor and melted at least some of the historic snowpack in upper elevations, swelling rivers and streams that flooded out residents of numerous communities. …
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Water lingo 101

• by Lois Henry
There’s a lot cfs talk being thrown around as rivers and creeks swell with recent storms. It occurred to me that maybe not everyone knows that CFS means. I didn’t when I first started covering water. Even if you know it means “cubic feet per second,” how does that help you understand what’s happening in…
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Kern River outflow from Lake Isabella is ramping up but, no, it is not a “flood release”

• by Lois Henry
Outflow from Lake Isabella into the Kern River increased on Tuesday but only because downriver users requested the water, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay. Outflow went from about 500 cubic feet per second (cfs) Monday to 1,013 cfs by 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hourly reservoir reports…
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Regs relaxed for storing flood water

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Governor Gavin Newsom is hoping to see the deluge from the ongoing storms socked away for dry times by making it easier to recharge underground aquifers.  The governor issued an executive order Friday suspending some regulatory requirements to divert flood water for groundwater recharge. The hope is to recharge as much water as possible since…
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Kern River watershed “Lookin’ good!”

• by SJV Water
Water watcher Scott Williams, who issues a Kern River Snow and Water Report every month, was practically giddy in his March 1 email stating: “Lookin’ good!” for this month’s report. The report compiles water and snow statistics from a variety of public sources. The upshot is the Kern River is forecast at 190% of average….
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State laws hamper flood flow storage but one San Joaquin Valley water district cut through the red tape. Can others follow?

• by Lois Henry
It seems like such a no brainer: Grab the floodwater inundating California right now and shove it into our dried up aquifers for later use. But water plus California never equals simple. Yes, farmers and water districts can, legally, grab water from the state’s overflowing rivers, park it on their land and it will recharge…
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