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A Tulare County groundwater agency on the hot seat for helping sink the Friant-Kern Canal holds private tours for state regulators

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
As the date of reckoning for excessive groundwater pumping in Tulare County grows closer, lobbying by water managers and growers has ramped up. The Friant Water Authority, desperate to protect its newly rebuilt –  yet still sinking – Friant-Kern Canal, has beseeched the Water Resources Control Board to get involved. Specifically, it has asked board…
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MEETING NOTES: Kern water districts look at joining forces to fix domestic wells and study sinking along the Friant-Kern Canal

• by Sonia Lemus, freelance for SJV Water
* “Meeting Notes” is a new feature focused on Kern County water districts, funded through a grant from the James B. McClatchy Foundation. Please consider supporting SJV Water to continue this important coverage.   Meetings: Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District board of directors Arvin-Edison board of directors Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa board of directors Cawelo Water District…
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Second San Joaquin Valley groundwater subbasin recommended for state takeover

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
The Friant-Kern Canal was called out specifically as one of the reasons the state should take over pumping in the Tule groundwater subbasin in Tulare County. The recommendation was contained in a recently released staff report to the Water Resources Control Board. While the report stated groundwater management plans covering the subbasin didn’t adequately address…
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Sinking canal has “everyone’s attention” and could put entire Tule subbasin under state control

• by Lois Henry and Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
Fallout over the ever sinking Friant-Kern Canal could affect growers throughout the Tule subbasin regardless of whether they get water from the canal. The state Water Resources Control Board already has the subbasin in its cross hairs for neglecting to create a coordinated plan to bring aquifers into balance under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act…
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How a state-funded drought program was converted to help farmers take on flood water and permanently cut groundwater pumping

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
When farmers fallowed thousands of acres during the recent drought, most didn’t expect they would be flooding those lands months later. But that’s what happened during last year’s historic floods after the state adapted LandFlex, a drought program, to take on some of the deluge from valley rivers.  “Our original intent with fallow land was…
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Some San Joaquin Valley farmers are rebelling against groundwater measures

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
As water managers throughout the San Joaquin Valley scramble to reign in groundwater pumping, they’re running into a serious roadblock: angry farmers.  Across the valley, farmers have decried fees and other measures meant to reduce pumping, threatening not to pay, taking agencies to court and protesting groundwater rules.  In some cases, it’s working.  In the…
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A tractor discs land near a wildlife area. SOURCE: Department of Water Resources

New state program will pay to keep groundwater in the ground

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
The state will likely soon be offering  up more cash to farmers who take their crops out of production. The state Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) new LandFlex program will pay out $25 million to local agencies and ultimately, as an incentive to farmers.  This is different from the Multibenefit Land Repurposing program overseen by…
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Friant-Kern Canal fix on schedule; water quality guidelines discussed

• by Rose Horowitch, SJV Water reporting intern
The Friant-Kern Canal fix is underway and on schedule to be completed before Sept. 1, 2024, according to an update at a recent Friant Water Authority (FWA) Board of Directors meeting. “They’re on track, they’re on schedule,” Stantec Engineering’s Janet Atkinson told the board at its Dec. 9 meeting. ‘We don’t see anything right now…
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