kaweah river Archives

Fluctuating Kaweah River flows yield giant catches over Thanksgiving weekend

December 4, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

The Kaweah River was reduced to a trickle out of Terminus Dam in late November, stranding catfish, carp and crawdads in shallow pools and giving young anglers a rare look at the critters that travel through the channel. Residents who live along the riverbank in eastern Tulare County could see — and smell — the…

SGMA • Uncategorized

Farmers fighting farmers over pumping allocations as Kaweah subbasin prepares for state scrutiny

October 6, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Groundwater relations in the Kaweah subbasin in Tulare County have gone from bad to worse. Fingers have been pointed, ultimatums laid down and patience has run out. At its Sept. 26 meeting, the Greater Kaweah GSA board accepted a recommendation to allocate 1.87 acre feet of groundwater per acre to its farmers for the 2023-24…

Floods • Rivers

CLOSED: Public is told to stay out of most valley rivers; closure on a portion of the Kern tries to make room for rafters

May 5, 2023

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry, SJV Water

This year’s epic runoff into San Joaquin Valley rivers is creating a tricky tightrope for local agencies tasked with keeping the public safe. How do you let people enjoy the bounty of water while making sure they don’t do anything lethally stupid? Upper Kern River It’s a difficult balance, as Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux…

Floods

Residents in small Tulare County towns take brunt of historic flooding

March 17, 2023

• 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. …

Floods • Uncategorized

Storm could “push the limits” of San Joaquin Valley’s flood response systems

March 8, 2023

• by Lois Henry

If the coming storm hits as predicted starting late Thursday, San Joaquin Valley flooding hot spots – and some new ones thanks to subsidence – could be swamped. It’s not because reservoirs above the valley floor are full. The culprits are likely to be the much smaller and typically dry “uncontrolled streams” threaded throughout the…

Drought • Rivers

Late summer rains brought little – but not much – drought relief to San Joaquin Valley watersheds

August 24, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting trainee

Monsoonal rains in early August offered a brief moment of relief to some San Joaquin Valley watersheds. But the dousing of rain did not make a dent in the ongoing drought, according to water managers. “It helped a couple of the Kern River interests with flow that they weren’t anticipating,” said Mark Mulkay, Kern River…

NEWS