kings county Archives

Allensworth flooding getting state level attention – will it help?

March 28, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Some state officials have finally taken notice of Allensworth, the historic Black community in Tulare County that is on the brink of severe flooding. Karla Nemeth, director of the state Department of Water Resources, toured Allensworth on Friday, March 24, to meet with community leaders to discuss issues and potential solutions. Allensworth sits in the…

Floods • Uncategorized

Flooding out other farmers was “premeditated” by the powerful J.G. Boswell Company, one farmer asserts

March 25, 2023

• by Lois Henry

By the time Erik Hansen had a moment to sit down in a Corcoran pizza parlor on a recent afternoon, the 5th generation farmer was tired, detached and a little defeated looking. He talked matter-of-factly of his family’s losses so far: At least 3,000 acres are under water, some orchards will die, his cousin’s house…

Floods • Uncategorized

Flood operations meeting yields little good news as water continues to wreak havoc in the San Joaquin Valley

March 22, 2023

• by Lois Henry

At an all-hands-on deck flood operations briefing Wednesday morning at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, the reports were quick and grim. A bridge over Cross Creek in Kings County had just washed out at Houston Avenue south of Hanford, the CalTrans rep told dozens of emergency workers from fire, roads, rail and water districts mostly…

Groundwater

Kings County passes law to keep its groundwater from being sold beyond its borders

November 29, 2022

• by Lois Henry

In an attempt to stop groundwater from being mined and sold beyond its borders, the Kings County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance Nov. 29 that will require anyone moving groundwater outside of Kings to get a permit. That includes groundwater pumped to backfill for surface supplies that farmers or water districts export out of…

SGMA

Boswell-Vidovich water war blows up over groundwater

October 12, 2022

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry, SJV Water

A long simmering water war between Kings County’s two biggest farming entities blew up Wednesday over groundwater when the state rejected the region’s plan to shore up its declining aquifer. The fallout could be significant if the state pursues enforcement, which could include pumping limits, steep fines and fees for all groundwater users in the…

Groundwater • Personalities

Fallout from Kings County water war continues as state mulls groundwater plan

August 29, 2022

• by Lois Henry

There’s no word, yet, of state intervention in the ongoing water war between two of Kings County’s largest growers – John Vidovich and the J.G. Boswell Company – but there has been fallout. Kimberly Brown, a board member of the Southwest Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency, resigned August 10 in protest of last-minute language added to…

SGMA

Desert groundwater agency to pay $8,500 per acre foot for valley water rights

August 2, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority in eastern Kern County has signed a “letter of intent” to buy the rights to 750 acre feet of state water for $6,396,000 from a State Water Project contractor in Kings County. The purchase is part of the authority’s plan to bring that overdrafted groundwater basin into balance. The…

Personalities • SGMA

Accusations continue to fly between two valley ag titans in water feud

May 18, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The ongoing water feud between two of Kings County’s biggest farming entities recently spilled into Kern County and up to Sacramento with allegations on both sides of misuse of water and other public resources. In a May 12 letter, the Southwest Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency complains that the J.G. Boswell Company has been pumping and…

Groundwater • Personalities

Judge’s order stops a Kings County pipeline, the focus of just one battle in the ongoing Boswell-Vidovich water war

April 4, 2022

• by Lois Henry

A Kings County judge issued a preliminary injunction Monday stopping a 48-inch water pipeline from cutting through the Tulare Lake Canal. The decision comes several months after J.G. Boswell, which controls the Tulare Lake Canal Company, blockaded the canal with bulldozers and excavators to keep the pipeline, owned by Sandridge Partners, which is controlled by…

Groundwater • Personalities

Judge in Boswell-Vidovich battle says she can’t “stretch” laws to keep groundwater from leaving Kings County

April 2, 2022

• by Lois Henry

A pair of lawsuits focused on trespass and environmental issues surrounding construction of a 48-inch water pipeline in Kings County are, in many ways, just a token of a much larger issue: Groundwater leaving the county, a judge noted on Friday. “The fact that groundwater is an issue in this county isn’t disputed,” Judge Valerie…

NEWS

Allensworth flooding getting state level attention – will it help?

Flooding out other farmers was “premeditated” by the powerful J.G. Boswell Company, one farmer asserts

Flood operations meeting yields little good news as water continues to wreak havoc in the San Joaquin Valley

Kings County passes law to keep its groundwater from being sold beyond its borders

Boswell-Vidovich water war blows up over groundwater

Fallout from Kings County water war continues as state mulls groundwater plan

Desert groundwater agency to pay $8,500 per acre foot for valley water rights

Accusations continue to fly between two valley ag titans in water feud

Judge’s order stops a Kings County pipeline, the focus of just one battle in the ongoing Boswell-Vidovich water war

Judge in Boswell-Vidovich battle says she can’t “stretch” laws to keep groundwater from leaving Kings County

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