kaweah Archives - SJV Water

State hears from the public on potential take over of groundwater pumping in the Tule subbasin

April 5, 2024

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The Tule subbasin is next up to face the state in a groundwater probation hearing. Staff from the state Resources Water Control Board held a public workshop on Friday to go over its recommendations and hear from the public prior to the hearing on September 17. Probation is the first step toward possible state takeover…

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State board to vote on reducing extraction fees for probationary basins

March 13, 2024

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

On the eve of its first subbasin probationary hearing, the state Water Resources Control Board announced it will vote on whether to reduce a controversial groundwater extraction fee. The board will vote at its March 19 meeting on whether to cut the fee from $40 to $20-per-acre-foot for well owners in a subbasin placed on…

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Farmers in Tulare County to test groundwater market they hope could help keep them in business and replenish the aquifer

February 2, 2024

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

How will selling groundwater help keep more groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley’s already critically overtapped aquifers? Water managers in the Kaweah subbasin in northwestern Tulare County hope to find out by having farmers tinker with a pilot groundwater market program. Kaweah farmers will be joining growers from subbasins up and down the San Joaquin…

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MEETING NOTES: Tulare County Water Commissioners take stock of 2023, set goals for 2024

January 9, 2024

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Meeting: Tulare County Water Commission Date: January 8, 2024 Agenda: CLICK HERE Board packet: CLICK HERE Main Topics: Results of 2023 Tulare County Water Commission Priorities, discussion to establish 2024 priorities. The Tulare County Water Commission is an advisory body to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. It examines a wide variety of water issues…

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After 50 years in Kings County water, Don Mills retires – mostly

December 22, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

When Don Mills graduated from Cal Poly in 1973, he moved back to the family farm in Kings County, intent on helping his father and uncle run the operation. But fate stepped in and Mills, a crop science major, was swept into the water business. Unbeknownst to him, the property he had purchased near Hanford…

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James K. Herbert, the visionary behind a vast Tulare County land preserve, dies at 85

December 20, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Nearly 25 years ago, the donation of a single parcel of undisturbed prairie in Tulare County became the impetus for a land conservation movement in the region. The donor, James K. Herbert, passed away at age 85 on Dec. 5. But his legacy lives on, both at the 725-acre James K. Herbert Wetland Prairie Preserve…

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State’s groundwater enforcement timeline is “not nearly as ambitious” as originally envisioned

December 20, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

State staff revealed it will be well into 2025 before all of the “inadequate” groundwater subbasins will start probationary hearings. The state Water Resources Control Board held a meeting on Tuesday where staff discussed the tentative schedule and heard from water agencies and members of the public. The Water Board is the enforcement arm under…

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TULARE MEETING NOTES: Greater Kaweah groundwater agency still working on water accounting

December 13, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Meeting: Greater Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency Date: Dec. 11, 2023 Agenda: CLICK HERE Board packet: CLICK HERE Main Topic: Discuss and advise staff regarding a possible amendment to the Rules and Regulations. The Kaweah Subbasin is one of six in the San Joaquin Valley facing scrutiny by the state Water Resources Control Board, the enforcement…

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Kaweah groundwater planning still at a “stand off” even with state take-over looming

November 8, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

San Joaquin Valley groundwater managers have had six years to come up with plans to bolster critically overdrafted aquifers. Yet, some appear still stuck at the starting line even as the specter of state intervention is marching ever closer. In the Kaweah subbasin covering northern Tulare County, one groundwater agency is just now setting out…

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Kern River interests allowed to squeeze a little extra water into Lake Isabella this winter

October 18, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Kern River irrigators will be able to store more water than usual in Lake Isabella this winter, but not as much as they’d like. Typically, the “carry over” amount is 170,000 acre feet to allow enough room in the lake to handle a heavy winter. Isabella can hold 568,000 acre feet at full capacity. Agricultural…

NEWS

State hears from the public on potential take over of groundwater pumping in the Tule subbasin

State board to vote on reducing extraction fees for probationary basins

Farmers in Tulare County to test groundwater market they hope could help keep them in business and replenish the aquifer

MEETING NOTES: Tulare County Water Commissioners take stock of 2023, set goals for 2024

After 50 years in Kings County water, Don Mills retires – mostly

James K. Herbert, the visionary behind a vast Tulare County land preserve, dies at 85

State’s groundwater enforcement timeline is “not nearly as ambitious” as originally envisioned

TULARE MEETING NOTES: Greater Kaweah groundwater agency still working on water accounting

Kaweah groundwater planning still at a “stand off” even with state take-over looming

Kern River interests allowed to squeeze a little extra water into Lake Isabella this winter

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