groundwater Archives - Page 14 of 20

State gives thumbs down to most San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans

January 28, 2022

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry, SJV Water

Groundwater plans for eight “critically overdrafted” subbasins in the San Joaquin Valley were deemed incomplete by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) on Friday. Plans covering the Kern, Eastern San Joaquin, Merced, Chowchilla, Kings, Kaweah, Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins were all officially labeled as “incomplete” by DWR. On January 21, DWR also deemed…

Friant-Kern Canal

VIDEO: Fix for one section of the sinking Friant-Kern Canal gets underway

January 26, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on the banks of the Friant-Kern Canal on Tuesday, to celebrate the start of construction to repair a portion of the sinking canal. Leadership from the Bureau of Reclamation, California’s Department of Water Resources and the Friant Water Authority spoke at the event. For decades, farmers in California’s San…

Groundwater

Groundwater plans for Westlands Water District, three other areas, deemed “incomplete”

January 21, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Groundwater plans for two regions in the western San Joaquin Valley were deemed deficient by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) on Friday. The Westside subbasin, overseen by Westlands Water District, and the Delta-Mendota subbasin’s plans were officially labeled as “incomplete” by DWR. The state also found groundwater plans for the Paso Robles and…

Groundwater • SGMA

Desert groundwater plan OK’d by state

January 13, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The Indian Wells Valley groundwater plan got a thumbs up from the state on Thursday but with a swarm of lawsuits surrounding the plan, it’s unclear what that approval will mean going forward. One of those lawsuits seeks a “comprehensive adjudication” of water rights of the Indian Wells Valley basin, which could reconfigure who has…

Groundwater • SGMA

Groundwater use capped for some Tulare County farmers

January 11, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Tulare County farmers used to pumping groundwater at will are coming to the harsh reality that those days are numbered. For some, they’re already over. Pumping caps have been, or soon will be, implemented in all three groundwater sustainability agencies in the Kaweah subbasin,. “I’d say the reaction has been positive. Positively terrible,” said Mike…

Groundwater

VIDEO: Groundwater pumping limits pitting “farmer against farmer” in some areas

January 10, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Madera County, which acts as a groundwater sustainability agency for farmlands outside of irrigation district boundaries, was the first agency in California to institute groundwater pumping limits. Meanwhile, area irrigation districts haven’t implemented pumping restrictions. That has created what one farmer called an unfair advantage. But there are arguments on the other side that farmers…

Uncategorized

FRIDAY POP QUIZ: Test your California water smarts

January 7, 2022

• by Lois Henry

It’s a new year and time to take stock. By that I mean, I’m super busy doing tons of paperwork for taxes and fundraisers and board meetings and haven’t had time to write. So, please enjoy this short WATER QUIZ (no cheating on the Google machine!) and feel free to talk among yourselves. 1. What…

Groundwater • SGMA

Critics say valley groundwater managers put too much emphasis on recharge, not enough on pumping cuts

December 27, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Groundwater recharge seems to be priority No. 1 in the San Joaquin Valley’s scramble toward sustainability. With water restrictions on the horizon, groundwater managers can’t build recharge sites fast enough. But will it be enough? “That’s something that’s always on the forefront of my mind, is this going to be enough?” said Kassy Chaughan, executive…

Personalities

Westlands GM gets contract extension despite grower objections

December 21, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

During a contentious Westlands Water District meeting on Tuesday where growers spoke out against district leadership, board members voted 8-1 to extend General Manager Tom Birmingham’s contract another three years. As has been the district’s recent practice, the contract extension came a year before Birmingham’s contract expires. Westlands growers criticized Birmingham, expressed frustration at the…

State System

State’s early zero-water-for-ag projection could have far reaching implications

December 13, 2021

• by Lois Henry

Storms hammering California this week will likely bump up the state’s Dec. 1 projection of zero water for agricultural contractors. But questions about how and why the Department of Water Resources made that projection – and what it means for the future – have left an unsettled wake among San Joaquin Valley agricultural water districts…

NEWS

State gives thumbs down to most San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans

VIDEO: Fix for one section of the sinking Friant-Kern Canal gets underway

Groundwater plans for Westlands Water District, three other areas, deemed “incomplete”

Desert groundwater plan OK’d by state

Groundwater use capped for some Tulare County farmers

VIDEO: Groundwater pumping limits pitting “farmer against farmer” in some areas

FRIDAY POP QUIZ: Test your California water smarts

Critics say valley groundwater managers put too much emphasis on recharge, not enough on pumping cuts

Westlands GM gets contract extension despite grower objections

State’s early zero-water-for-ag projection could have far reaching implications

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