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Drought

Where is the water going?

November 22, 2021

• by Lois Henry

This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), California Health Report, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, Circle of Blue, Colorado Public Radio, Columbia Insight, The Counter, High Country News, New Mexico In Depth and SJV Water. The project was made possible by a grant from the Water Foundation…

SGMA

State’s groundwater “cop” weighs in on plans to stop over pumping and finds them lax

November 15, 2021

• by Lois Henry

As California’s Central Valley water managers nervously await the first official Department of Water Resources responses to plans for how they expect to fix massive groundwater over pumping, some were dismayed to “stumble” on comments from a different, and very powerful, state water agency. The State Water Resources Control Board submitted highly critical comments on…

Drinking Water • Groundwater • Uncategorized

Kings County groundwater plan raising questions

November 15, 2021

• by Lois Henry

It’s hard to imagine state officials giving the thumbs up to a groundwater sustainability plan that potentially allows Corcoran – California’s subsidence epicenter – to sink up to another 11 feet. Especially considering the tiny, rural town was forced to spend $14 million in 2017 to rebuild its levees following the 2012-16 drought when it…

SGMA • Uncategorized

VIDEO: The uncertain future of valley farmland

November 9, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Valley farmers have relied on groundwater for generations. That is changing under the state’s new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, SGMA, that mandates aquifers be brought into balance by 2040. That means more water can’t be pumped out than is recharged into the aquifer. Pumping restrictions could mean significant portions of the valley’s farmland will have…

Groundwater

Farmland repurposing program awaits Gov. Newsom’s OK

September 14, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

A bill that would create a program to help farmers find new life for farmland idled by coming groundwater restrictions had its own phoenix moment in early September when it was simultaneously killed and reborn — this time with money. AB 252, authored by Assemblymembers Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) and Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield), died in the…

Drinking Water • Drought

Fresno County towns with no drinking water drown in debt while residents wait for new well

September 12, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

This story was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is encouraged 48 hours after initial posting. The longer it takes for two new wells to be dug in Cantua Creek and El Porvenir in western Fresno County, the deeper in debt the towns are mired. Now, with the drought, those well projects are…

Groundwater

Growers hope groundwater markets provide flexibility

September 7, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Some San Joaquin Valley farmers could someday have a new “crop” to sell — their groundwater. In the face of looming groundwater pumping restrictions, some groundwater agencies are looking at internal markets to give growers a way to save water and still earn a profit. These nascent markets are still in the talking and tinkering…

Drinking Water • Drought

How drought forced California to mandate drinking water consolidation for Tooleville

August 31, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

This story was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is encouraged 48 hours after initial posting. Life in Tooleville wasn’t easy before the latest drought. Residents of this tiny, two-road farmworker community, tucked into the edge of the Sierra Nevada foothills in eastern Tulare County, have been living on bottled water…

SGMA

Farmland repurposing bill passes state Senate committee

August 26, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

A bill that would create a program to help growers find other uses for farmland idled because of groundwater pumping restrictions won approval by a Senate committee, bringing it closer to the Governor’s desk. AB 252, known as the multibenefit land repurposing incentive program, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee August 26. The bill, authored by…

SGMA

Bill aimed at repurposing farmland is a step closer to passing

August 20, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Lawmakers may be close to passing a bill aimed at helping farmers cope with water restrictions. Assembly Bill 252, the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Incentive Program, would set up a program under the California Department of Conservation to use grant money for repurposing former ag land in critically over drafted groundwater basins. The bill was authored…