kings county Archives

Floods

State is working to contain bird disease in flooded Tulare Lake

August 21, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Avian botulism, a lethal disease for birds, has been found spreading throughout Tulare Lake. The disease is caused by bacteria that thrive in shallow, warm waters with decaying organic matter. The bacteria that causes the disease is found naturally in wetland soil. But it doesn’t produce the toxin that causes the disease unless environmental conditions…

Floods

Battle of the berms: Farmers build maze of levees to protect land as snow melt heads for Tulare Lake

May 16, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Growers and water managers in the Tulare Lake area have been moving mountains of dirt to beef up levees and build entirely new ones as they brace for snowmelt this summer. A string of storms in March battered the region, blowing out levees and overwhelming infrastructure as flood water plowed through homes, dairies and crops….

Floods • Uncategorized

State to pay $17 – $20 million for repeated rebuild of Corcoran levee

May 11, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The state will front Kings County $17-$20 million to pay for raising the Corcoran levee but said it didn’t want to throw “good money after bad” and would require local groundwater agencies do more to stem subsidence, land sinking. Gov. Newsom’s administration made the announcement Thursday as a separate measure among several water-related spending proposals…

Floods

Raising the Corcoran levee on sinking ground

May 4, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Corcoran levee is being raised – again. The fear is it won’t be high enough as runoff from record breaking snowpack above several rivers that feed into the old Tulare Lake gets underway. Before repair work got started the levee stood at 188 feet. That’s four feet shorter than when it was last…

Floods

Kern River water heads north through flood channel but won’t hit Tulare Lake – yet

April 27, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The heavily overgrown Kern River flood channel that heads north past Highway 46 and eventually meanders into the southern end of the Tulare Lake bed is filling with water. But it’s not “flood water” and it won’t make it into Tulare Lake, said Tim Ashlock, General Manager of Buena Vista Water Storage District. The district…

Floods

Who’s in charge? Agencies deal with fragmented flood response in the south San Joaquin Valley

April 20, 2023

• by SJV Water

Editors note: This story is a collaboration between SJV Water and Fresnoland, a non-profit news site in Fresno. Contributing reporters Jesse Vad, SJV Water, jesse.vad@sjvwater.org Gregory Weaver, Fresnoland, gregory@fresnoland.org Shaikh Rashad, Fresnoland, omar@fresnoland.org Residents and agencies struggle with jurisdiction in historic flood fight near the old Tulare Lake bed Flood water flowing toward the small…

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…

NEWS

State is working to contain bird disease in flooded Tulare Lake

Battle of the berms: Farmers build maze of levees to protect land as snow melt heads for Tulare Lake

State to pay $17 – $20 million for repeated rebuild of Corcoran levee

Raising the Corcoran levee on sinking ground

Kern River water heads north through flood channel but won’t hit Tulare Lake – yet

Who’s in charge? Agencies deal with fragmented flood response in the south San Joaquin Valley

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

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