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VIDEO: The uncertain future of valley farmland

• 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…
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Farmland repurposing program awaits Gov. Newsom’s OK

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

• 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…
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Growers hope groundwater markets provide flexibility

• 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…
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How drought forced California to mandate drinking water consolidation for Tooleville

• 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…
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Farmland repurposing bill passes state Senate committee

• 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…
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Bill aimed at repurposing farmland is a step closer to passing

• 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…
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Tulare County officials say state red tape made water crisis, suffering worse for Teviston

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry
This story was reported and written by Jesse Vad, SJV Water intern and Lois Henry, SJV Water CEO. It was produced with funding and support from Fresnoland, for the Fresno Bee. Republishing is allowed 48 hours after initial posting.  The state’s response to the water crisis that gripped tiny Teviston, California earlier this summer should…
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Valley rivers going dry

• by Lois Henry
Southern San Joaquin Valley Rivers are running at near historic lows — again. In fact, the Bakersfield City Council passed a resolution Wednesday officially declaring the Kern River as running at only 17% of normal, it’s second driest year since record keeping began in 1893. The driest year on record was 2015, the worst year…
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