rivers Archives - SJV Water

Ugly deeds, politics and high drama swirl amid the waters of a re-emerging Tulare Lake

March 18, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The drama was high on the Tulare Lake bed Saturday as flood waters pushed some landowners to resort to heavy handed and, in one instance, illegal tactics, to try and keep their farm ground dry — even at the expense of other farmers and some small communities. Someone illegally cut the banks of Deer Creek…

Floods

Residents in small Tulare County towns take brunt of historic flooding

March 17, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Tulare County’s two main reservoirs both “filled and spilled” after the latest series of atmospheric rivers slammed into California starting March 10. The storms dumped rain on the San Joaquin Valley floor and melted at least some of the historic snowpack in upper elevations, swelling rivers and streams that flooded out residents of numerous communities. …

dams • Floods • Uncategorized

Lake Isabella may be the next to “fill and spill” as it is continues filling rapidly

March 16, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Lake Isabella could be the next Central Valley reservoir to “fill and spill” as it is rising rapidly, with an estimated two million acre feet of water hunkered down in a record high snowpack and more storms coming. The Kaweah and Success reservoirs in Tulare County have already reached that point, Success releasing water from…

Floods • Uncategorized

Tiny town of Earlimart has been dry so far, how long will its luck hold out?

March 16, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The flood-prone town of Earlimart has been mostly dry — so far — during this series of massive storms slamming California. Highway 99, which spears through the center of the tiny farmworker village in southern Tulare County, was flooded out by the White River and had to be closed twice after one, followed by another,…

Uncategorized

Water lingo 101

March 14, 2023

• by Lois Henry

There’s a lot cfs talk being thrown around as rivers and creeks swell with recent storms. It occurred to me that maybe not everyone knows that CFS means. I didn’t when I first started covering water. Even if you know it means “cubic feet per second,” how does that help you understand what’s happening in…

Groundwater • Uncategorized

Regs relaxed for storing flood water

March 10, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Governor Gavin Newsom is hoping to see the deluge from the ongoing storms socked away for dry times by making it easier to recharge underground aquifers. The governor issued an executive order Friday suspending some regulatory requirements to divert flood water for groundwater recharge. The hope is to recharge as much water as possible since…

Floods • Uncategorized

Storm could “push the limits” of San Joaquin Valley’s flood response systems

March 8, 2023

• by Lois Henry

If the coming storm hits as predicted starting late Thursday, San Joaquin Valley flooding hot spots – and some new ones thanks to subsidence – could be swamped. It’s not because reservoirs above the valley floor are full. The culprits are likely to be the much smaller and typically dry “uncontrolled streams” threaded throughout the…

Drought

More wet weather boosts water supplies for San Joaquin Valley farms and cities

February 22, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Farms and cities that rely on water out of California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta got more good news this week as state and federal water agencies took measures to move more water south. The moves come between a significant series of stories earlier this winter and as the state faces a rare wet, cold front that…

Rivers

Bakersfield to take a deep dive on the Kern River – supplies, demands and rights

February 21, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Bakersfield City Council at its meeting Wednesday will likely approve a $288,350 contract to conduct a detailed study of the city’s water supplies and demands with a strong focus on Kern River operations. Though the proposed study, on the consent agenda, isn’t in direct response to a lawsuit filed last year against the city…

Rivers • Uncategorized

VIDEO: More water in the Kern River – where from this time?

February 21, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Kern River came alive again recently as the Kern County Water Agency pumped water into one section of the dry riverbed from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Various water agencies have been using the river to move or store water as supplies have increased thanks to the relatively wet winter California has experienced so…

NEWS

Ugly deeds, politics and high drama swirl amid the waters of a re-emerging Tulare Lake

Residents in small Tulare County towns take brunt of historic flooding

Lake Isabella may be the next to “fill and spill” as it is continues filling rapidly

Tiny town of Earlimart has been dry so far, how long will its luck hold out?

Water lingo 101

Regs relaxed for storing flood water

Storm could “push the limits” of San Joaquin Valley’s flood response systems

More wet weather boosts water supplies for San Joaquin Valley farms and cities

Bakersfield to take a deep dive on the Kern River – supplies, demands and rights

VIDEO: More water in the Kern River – where from this time?

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