porterville Archives

Regulators took aim at two water contaminants recently. But do regs go far enough or target the right players?

April 30, 2024

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Water systems will need to comply with new rules on contaminants at the state and federal levels after two regulations were approved this month. That could bring challenging costs to water providers. And still, advocates say protections aren’t good enough. On April 17, the state Water Resources Control Board passed a maximum contaminant level (MCL)…

Uncategorized

Planning and coordination kept Porterville dry during floods but the rest of the San Joaquin Valley remains fragmented

January 8, 2024

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

How did Porterville, where a then raging Tule River cuts through the town, stay dry while so many other San Joaquin Valley communities got flooded out last spring? Planning, coordination and permits. Sounds simple, but it took officials from the city, irrigation district, Tulare County and federal offices years to establish. It paid off as…

Tule River tribe suffers chronic water problems, even in record wet year

September 12, 2023

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Despite a record snowpack that has kept the South Fork of the Tule River flowing at a steady clip, residents of the Tule River Reservation – who get 60 percent of their supplies directly from the river – were recently without water for eight days. The problem, ironically, was too much water. Specifically, from Hurricane…

Floods • Uncategorized

The Tule River watershed remains a wild card in a wild water year

April 17, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Residents and farms along the Tule River have been hammered by flood waters this year. And, unfortunately, the best those same folks can hope for as the weather heats up is, well, more flooding. “I think the best case scenario is a prolonged period of minor to moderate flooding sort of what we’re already seeing,…

Drinking Water • Drought • Groundwater

State still hasn’t fixed Porterville drinking water crisis from the last drought. Will residents go dry again?

June 30, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

The epicenter of dry wells during California’s last devastating drought was undoubtedly Porterville. The small Tulare County town saw wells go dry enmasse in its unincorporated east side. It became a national headline as the media descended. Amid the glare of tv cameras, the state pledged to help and agreed to build three new wells….

NEWS

Regulators took aim at two water contaminants recently. But do regs go far enough or target the right players?

Planning and coordination kept Porterville dry during floods but the rest of the San Joaquin Valley remains fragmented

Tule River tribe suffers chronic water problems, even in record wet year

The Tule River watershed remains a wild card in a wild water year

State still hasn’t fixed Porterville drinking water crisis from the last drought. Will residents go dry again?

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