san joaquin valley Archives - Page 16 of 27

VIDEO: Where does the water go? How the Kern River is divvied up

August 11, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Where does the water go? The Kern River’s abrupt stop, practically mid-channel, can be jarring. The full river suddenly goes dry just outside Bakersfield leaving a dusty channel snaking through the heart of town. Why? Where does all that water go? Who owns it? How does it all work? Our video project, “Law of the…

Rivers

Effort to bring South Fork Kern River water to valley farmland buffeted by lawsuits, called a “joke”

August 3, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Drought cut short a pilot program to bring South Fork Kern River water through Lake Isabella and down 60 miles to farmland northwest of Bakersfield. Now, a raft of lawsuits could upend the environmental impact report in support of the project, which has been a goal of the Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District since it…

Drinking Water

SJV water managers know the pain of slow state response to failing water systems

August 3, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Water managers in the San Joaquin Valley who regularly work with residents of poor, rural communities facing water insecurity are applauding last month’s sharply critical audit of the state Water Resources Control Board. The California State Auditor’s report found a serious lack of urgency on the part of the water board, which is tasked with…

Rivers • Uncategorized

Utility stops flows to closed hatchery but keeps some North Fork Kern water for itself

July 28, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Southern California Edison has stopped taking water out of the North Fork of the Kern River for a state fish hatchery that has been closed for nearly two years but added a new diversion that river advocates are calling a “dangerous precedent.” The move comes several weeks after river advocates complained the utility was using…

SGMA

Vulnerable domestic wells will be focus of $10 million farmland retirement grant in Madera County

July 14, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Three San Joaquin Valley water agencies are gearing up to spend $10 million each in grant funding from the state Department of Conservation to retire or repurpose farmland. Valley agencies that received grants so far include the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, Pixley Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainbility Agency (GSA) and Madera County. SJV Water will…

SGMA

Will $10 million “make a dent” in Tulare County groundwater use?

July 7, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Three San Joaquin Valley water agencies are gearing up to spend $10 million each in grant funding they received from the state Department of Conservation to retire or repurpose farmland. Valley agencies that received grants so far include the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, Pixley Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) and Madera County. SJV…

SGMA

Farmers who helped sink the Friant-Kern Canal reject a fee to pay off their share of the fix

July 5, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Farmers in southern Tulare County on June 30 soundly rejected a proposed land fee that would have helped pay a lump sum settlement of $125 million toward fixing the Friant-Kern Canal, which has sunk because of excessive groundwater pumping. The Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency agreed in 2020 to pay a portion of the cost…

SGMA

Another group of Kern County water districts forming their own groundwater agency in face of possible state action

June 29, 2022

• by Lois Henry

A group of water districts clustered on the western edge of Kern County that are currently members of the Kern Groundwater Authority (KGA) announced they will form their own groundwater sustainability agency. The Westside District Water Authority, made up of the Belridge Water Storage District and the Lost Hills and the Berrenda Mesa water districts,…

Drinking Water

What’s in the water? There’s a class for that

June 27, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Want to learn more about where your family’s drinking water comes from? What’s in it? Why it costs so much? And what the future holds? A Water Leadership Institute for residents of the southern San Joaquin Valley will start later this summer and classes are free. The institute, which is taking applications now, is…

Drought

Kern County reverses course on ag well permitting

June 24, 2022

• by Lois Henry

In a complete turnaround from its stance earlier this week, Kern County late Thursday dropped its requirement that groundwater agencies make certain findings about proposed new agricultural wells before it would consider issuing permits for those wells. The situation had reached a boiling point in the local ag community as the Kern County Environmental Health…

NEWS

VIDEO: Where does the water go? How the Kern River is divvied up

Effort to bring South Fork Kern River water to valley farmland buffeted by lawsuits, called a “joke”

SJV water managers know the pain of slow state response to failing water systems

Utility stops flows to closed hatchery but keeps some North Fork Kern water for itself

Vulnerable domestic wells will be focus of $10 million farmland retirement grant in Madera County

Will $10 million “make a dent” in Tulare County groundwater use?

Farmers who helped sink the Friant-Kern Canal reject a fee to pay off their share of the fix

Another group of Kern County water districts forming their own groundwater agency in face of possible state action

What’s in the water? There’s a class for that

Kern County reverses course on ag well permitting

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