friant Archives - Page 2 of 3

Damage from “severe breach” of Friant-Kern Canal construction at Deer Creek difficult to assess

March 13, 2023

• by Lois Henry

An unfinished section of the new Friant-Kern Canal suffered a “severe breach” at Deer Creek in Tulare County Friday night as the normally dry creek swelled with rain and snowmelt and overran its banks into the construction zone. “This was worse than the one before,” said Johnny Amaral, Chief Operating Officer of the Friant Water…

dams • Rivers

A massive effort – restoring the San Joaquin River

November 22, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The San Joaquin River is a vital source of water for agriculture and the environment and it is also home to a unique program that hopes to restore native fish runs. It is a complex program and SJV Water was fortunate to take advantage of a tour offered through the Water Education Foundation Nov. 2-3…

dams

Question of water rights looms over controversial proposed new dam

November 21, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A controversial proposed dam seems to have a new pathway forward. But how far will it get through California’s byzantine world of water rights? Nobody seems to agree on an answer. The Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir is a joint project between the Del Puerto Water District and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor Authority on…

Drought • Rivers

VIDEO: Restoring salmon on the San Joaquin during three years of drought

May 25, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A legal settlement in 2006 created the San Joaquin River Restoration Program to reestablish the spring-run Chinook salmon population that once thrived there. The program has created a native population through careful breeding and water management. Towns Burgess, lead fish biologist with the restoration program, explains how it has been operating through three years of…

Drought • Federal System

Feds not giving “fair share” of water to all contractors, some say

March 8, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

In California’s byzantine water world, some water districts are, apparently, more equal than others, to paraphrase George Orwell. That appears to be the case in the federally operated Central Valley Project, particularly when it comes to two main sets of water districts: the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors and the Friant Contractors. On Feb. 27,…

Federal System • Friant-Kern Canal

Federal water allocation of 0% to 15% too skimpy, contractors say

February 23, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The Bureau of Reclamation announced its 2022 water allocations for the Central Valley Project (CVP) on Wednesday. The CVP is a more than 400-mile network of federal canals and dams that transport water to farms and towns throughout the valley. CVP contractors south of the Delta will receive no water, except for a couple specific…

Federal System • Friant-Kern Canal • Groundwater • Rivers

California water “stockings” stuffed with federal money

December 23, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Christmas appeared to come early for California water interests with more than $1 billion in federal funding for a variety of projects packed into the recent federal funding bill that included COVID-19 relief. At the top of the list for the San Joaquin Valley is $206 million to aid in repairing the Friant-Kern Canal. The…

Friant-Kern Canal

Proposed agreement could boost funds to fix Friant-Kern Canal

December 16, 2020

• by Lois Henry

In what was hailed as a “landmark agreement,” farmers in an area of southern Tulare County blamed for sinking the Friant-Kern Canal from excessive groundwater pumping will chip in a hefty amount to help pay for a fix. How hefty could be decided by their payment choice. A longer term payment option would be $200…

Federal System • Friant-Kern Canal • Groundwater

Friant-Kern Canal fix approved over concerns the plan isn’t fully baked

October 28, 2020

• by Lois Henry

The Friant Water Authority on Thursday approved the final environmental review for a massive project to fix a 33-mile segment of the Friant-Kern Canal despite continued questions about funding and other concerns expressed by some Friant contractors. One water manager compared the plan to several bungled construction projects, including California’s High Speed Rail and a…

Federal System • Friant-Kern Canal

Dominoes from the massive Creek Fire teetering over San Joaquin Valley farmers

September 29, 2020

• by Lois Henry

When the Creek Fire erupted on Sept. 4 and chewed through the forest toward Southern California Edison’s Big Creek power system, little did anyone know how that might affect grape growers in Delano nearly a month later. But the historic fire has put water managers along the eastern flank of the San Joaquin Valley, who…

NEWS

Damage from “severe breach” of Friant-Kern Canal construction at Deer Creek difficult to assess

A massive effort – restoring the San Joaquin River

Question of water rights looms over controversial proposed new dam

VIDEO: Restoring salmon on the San Joaquin during three years of drought

Feds not giving “fair share” of water to all contractors, some say

Federal water allocation of 0% to 15% too skimpy, contractors say

California water “stockings” stuffed with federal money

Proposed agreement could boost funds to fix Friant-Kern Canal

Friant-Kern Canal fix approved over concerns the plan isn’t fully baked

Dominoes from the massive Creek Fire teetering over San Joaquin Valley farmers

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