pine flat Archives

Going to the source: Can meadow restoration beef up California’s water supplies and reduce flooding?

November 21, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

California’s 280,000 acres of mountain meadows dotting the Sierra Nevada are more than pretty rest stops along arduous alpine trails. They also act like giant water sponges, filtering water and slowing it down as runoff barrels down mountainsides. Yet more than 50,000 acres of meadows are in need of restoration. US Forest Service ecologist Karen…

dams • Uncategorized

One Central Valley dam project gets nearly $95 million in funding; two others still in proposal phase

October 20, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Three dam expansion projects could increase water storage for use in the Central Valley by a whopping 304,000 acre feet. Each of the projects would raise existing dams, not build new ones. The project that is furthest along would raise the B.F. Sisk Dam in Merced County to expand San Luis Reservoir storage by 130,000…

Uncategorized

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…

dams • Floods

NEWS RELEASE: Pine Flat Dam releases water over spillway, but that doesn’t mean the lake is “full”

June 29, 2023

• by SJV Water

* The following news release was provided by the Kings River Conservation District: As Pine Flat Reservoir’s water storage increases and the lake level rises, it eventually reaches a point where the dam’s gated spillway, located at the highest operational point, is used. That level is approximately 85% of gross pool. Water management officials expect…

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

Going to the source: Can meadow restoration beef up California’s water supplies and reduce flooding?

One Central Valley dam project gets nearly $95 million in funding; two others still in proposal phase

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

NEWS RELEASE: Pine Flat Dam releases water over spillway, but that doesn’t mean the lake is “full”

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

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