san joaquin valley Archives

Domestic wells still going dry in San Joaquin Valley towns as historically low groundwater levels are slow to rebound

June 8, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

The small town of Tooleville ran out of water and started receiving water hauled in by truck on June 5. It’s the first time the town has needed hauled water since October of 2022. Despite the historic snowpack and storms this year, groundwater levels in some areas are still low and wells are still going…

Groundwater

San Joaquin Valley groundwater will need more than one epic water year to rebound in the long term

June 7, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

With all the flooding, runoff and more snowmelt still to come, everyone’s wondering: How’s the groundwater? Short answer: Better. Long answer: It’s going to take more than one good water year to reach sustainability. After decades of over pumping and two severe, multi-year droughts within five years of each other, San Joaquin Valley aquifers had…

Floods

Floodplain projects are “foreign concept” for the south valley

May 26, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

One of the surest ways to corral flooding on the valley floor is floodplain restoration – letting rivers spread out over large swaths of undeveloped land to slow their flow and absorb the water. But even as cities and farms throughout the southern San Joaquin Valley brace for more flooding from an epic snowmelt after…

Floods

Floodwater is filled with icky stuff but won’t likely hurt drinking water long term

May 12, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Floodwater covering parts of the San Joaquin Valley is nasty – filled with animal and septic waste, road oil and other grunge from whatever it’s washed over. Swimming in it is definitely not advised. But over the long term, experts don’t think it will harm groundwater, which is where most valley residents get their drinking…

Floods • Uncategorized

Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County will remain mostly dry and continue being farmed by the J.G. Boswell Company despite the coming, epic snow melt. But unlike in Kings County where Boswell has been taking heat for continuing to farm parts of the old Tulare Lake bed while others have been flooded…

Floods • Uncategorized

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

It isn’t just water that’s been barreling down the Kern River in this historic water year. Trees, shrubs, trash – even old appliances – have come swirling down the river bed, plucked out by heavy equipment and piled on the banks in massive heaps. City of Bakersfield crews, along with other agencies, worked round the…

Floods

Giant tubes helping manage massive Kern River flows

April 17, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Those highly noticeable big black tubes being placed in the Kern River at Coffee Road are the fulcrum in a full-court press by Buena Vista Water Storage District to keep as much water as possible in the county. The western Kern County agricultural water district anticipates putting as many as 25 siphon tubes over what’s…

Personalities • Uncategorized

ROOTED IN THE VALLEY: Will Scott came back to farming, hopes to encourage young Black farmers

April 11, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Will Scott grew up farming but left for a career in the Navy and as an electrician. “If it’s in your blood, you’ll come back to it,” he says of why he started his small farming operation in Fresno County after many years away. Farming is fundamental to life, he says and hopes to encourage…

Floods

The big melt: San Joaquin Valley eyes historic snowpack with trepidation

April 11, 2023

• by Lois Henry

It’s unlikely that all the snow looming above the San Joaquin Valley will melt and barrel toward the valley floor at the same time. If history is a guide, the melt should be staggered between the San Joaquin, Kings, Tule and Kern river watersheds starting later this month through July. “That’s good,” said California Department…

Floods • Uncategorized

In defense of tomatoes: “Wherever it isn’t going to flood, we’re going to try to farm.” – Boswell president

April 5, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Representatives of the J.G. Boswell Company defended both the agricultural giant’s handling of flood water so far and its tomato plantings at the Kings County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. In an impromptu discussion during public comments, Phil Hansen, with Hansen Ranches, again noted that areas of Boswell land deep in the old Tulare Lake…

NEWS

Domestic wells still going dry in San Joaquin Valley towns as historically low groundwater levels are slow to rebound

San Joaquin Valley groundwater will need more than one epic water year to rebound in the long term

Floodplain projects are “foreign concept” for the south valley

Floodwater is filled with icky stuff but won’t likely hurt drinking water long term

Longtime agreement keeps J.G. Boswell Company land dry in the old Buena Vista Lake bed in Kern County

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

Giant tubes helping manage massive Kern River flows

ROOTED IN THE VALLEY: Will Scott came back to farming, hopes to encourage young Black farmers

The big melt: San Joaquin Valley eyes historic snowpack with trepidation

In defense of tomatoes: “Wherever it isn’t going to flood, we’re going to try to farm.” – Boswell president

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