flooding Archives - SJV Water

Paperwork delays blamed for flooding from overgrown rivers. Will the process work better this winter?

November 6, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Entire towns flooded last winter because of permit delays, according to lawmakers and others. Debris from overgrown creeks and waterways up and down the state hadn’t been cleaned out in years for lack of proper permits. When water barreled down those channels, debris piled up, pushing water over levees and into hundreds of homes and…

Floods • Uncategorized

Fresno hospital’s request for $1.23 million in flood relief funding for “X-Ray Rooms” remains unexplained

November 2, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

After this year’s historic storms and devastating floods, the federal government has been swamped with requests from agencies across the San Joaquin Valley seeking reimbursement for repair costs. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided SJV Water a data sheet that enumerates more than 460 such requests from six counties, including Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kern…

Floods

Planning and luck kept Kern County’s flood-prone Lamont mostly dry this year

August 28, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Of all the places that unexpectedly flooded this past year, there was one that unexpectedly did not – Lamont. Typically, heavy rain years kick up water in the Caliente Creek and it comes rushing east out of the Tehachapi Mountains, turns south under Highway 58 into a wide wash and floods out Lamont. Years ago,…

Floods

State is working to contain bird disease in flooded Tulare Lake

August 21, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Avian botulism, a lethal disease for birds, has been found spreading throughout Tulare Lake. The disease is caused by bacteria that thrive in shallow, warm waters with decaying organic matter. The bacteria that causes the disease is found naturally in wetland soil. But it doesn’t produce the toxin that causes the disease unless environmental conditions…

Floods

State sending $20 million to aid Planada flood victims. Residents say ‘Ojalá’

July 12, 2023

• by Central Valley Journalism Collaborative

Editor’s note: This story was reported and edited by the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, cvlocaljournalism.org, a nonprofit newsroom based in Merced, CA. By Brianna Vaccari and Michelle Morgante Central Valley Journalism Collaborative Planada, Calif. (CVJC) – “Ojalá.” The word, rooted in Arabic, is said by Spanish-speakers to mean “hopefully” or “God willing.” It is said…

Uncategorized

Kern River flows to drop again after noise detected in Isabella Dam outlet tunnel

June 26, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Outflows from Lake Isabella into the Kern River will be cut to zero starting at 1 a.m. Tuesday so dam operators can check the source of “funny noises” coming from the outlet tunnel, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay and an Army Corps of Engineers press release. “They’ve been hearing funny noises in the…

Floods

Kern River flows ramping down thanks to cool weather but will remain strong through the fall

June 9, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Cooler weather has slowed the anticipated snowmelt above Lake Isabella enough that outflows from the dam will ramp down to 6,500 cubic feet per second starting Sunday, according to Kern River Water Master Mark Mulkay. “We’ve been watching the snow surveys and weather up there and think we’re in really good shape to be able…

Floods

Flooding in Firebaugh has come in a slow, relentless creep as high San Joaquin River flows seep through levees into basements, ruin crops and leave land too sodden to farm

June 9, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The surging San Joaquin River is proving to be another tough water management problem. The raging waters from this year’s historic rain and snowpack are seeping through levees, destroying crops and threatening the city of Firebaugh. The small city of Firebaugh in Fresno County, sits right up against the river. Seepage is the major problem,…

Groundwater

San Joaquin Valley groundwater will need more than one epic water year to rebound in the long term

June 7, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

With all the flooding, runoff and more snowmelt still to come, everyone’s wondering: How’s the groundwater? Short answer: Better. Long answer: It’s going to take more than one good water year to reach sustainability. After decades of over pumping and two severe, multi-year droughts within five years of each other, San Joaquin Valley aquifers had…

Floods • Uncategorized

Big melt may be less dramatic – and damaging – than initially thought

May 22, 2023

• by Lois Henry

State flood responders are still planning for the worst, but newly released inundation models are predicting a less dramatic and damaging snow melt as California heads into the summer months. On the Kern River, predictions are now showing releases from Isabella Dam can be maintained at 7,750 cubic feet per second, or less, throughout the rest…

NEWS

Paperwork delays blamed for flooding from overgrown rivers. Will the process work better this winter?

Fresno hospital’s request for $1.23 million in flood relief funding for “X-Ray Rooms” remains unexplained

Planning and luck kept Kern County’s flood-prone Lamont mostly dry this year

State is working to contain bird disease in flooded Tulare Lake

State sending $20 million to aid Planada flood victims. Residents say ‘Ojalá’

Kern River flows to drop again after noise detected in Isabella Dam outlet tunnel

Kern River flows ramping down thanks to cool weather but will remain strong through the fall

Flooding in Firebaugh has come in a slow, relentless creep as high San Joaquin River flows seep through levees into basements, ruin crops and leave land too sodden to farm

San Joaquin Valley groundwater will need more than one epic water year to rebound in the long term

Big melt may be less dramatic – and damaging – than initially thought

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