English | Español

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin-in Instagram
Login
Donate
Search

NEWS

Lawsuit aims to save desert ag

• by Lois Henry
Water managers trying to bring groundwater into balance in the severely overdrafted Indian Wells Valley basin near Ridgecrest laid out a draft plan last month that would essentially mean the end of large-scale agriculture in that desert region.Mojave Pistachios Complaint “We are giving options to (ag) pumpers so they understand they have a limited future…
Read More

A firehose of paperwork is pointed at state water officials

• by Lois Henry
The onslaught of paperwork will be astounding. When the calendar strikes Jan. 31, 2020, water agencies around the state will have sent hundreds of thousands of pages of technical data, plans and comments meant to shore up groundwater levels in our most overdrafted areas. Officials at the state Department of Water Resources  are expecting about…
Read More
• •

Potpourri: SJV Water on Berkeley radio, Cali streams tapped out (?), the Creel has landed and more

• by Lois Henry
In the interest of not inundating your email inboxes with a bunch of posts, I’m offering several small newsy water bits in a single take. You are WELCOME! Berkeley gets a Kings earful SJV Water CEO/Editor Lois Henry (that’s me!) was interviewed by Vic Bedoian, a freelance Central Valley radio reporter, for KFPA 94.1 FM…
Read More

Lack of groundwater coordination could land Kern in “probation”

• by Lois Henry
In what appears to be a game of water chicken, at least one Kern County groundwater sustainability agency is refusing to sign a crucial document required to keep the entire subbasin out of state control. Buena Vista GSA General Manager Tim Ashlock said Monday that his agency won’t sign a five-year “coordination agreement” with Kern’s…
Read More

Kern River water is at the center of another legal battle

• by Lois Henry
The relative lull in lawsuits over Kern River water was broken Dec. 11 when Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District filed a complaint against the City of Bakersfield. Rosedale’s complaint, filed in Kern County Superior Court, demands that the city keep selling a portion of river water to the district under a layer cake of agreements…
Read More
• •

Extreme ag pumping threatens California’s main water artery

• by Lois Henry
Heavy groundwater pumping to sustain a massive increase in orchards and vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley has brought the state’s main water artery to the brink of permanent damage, according to report released by the Department of Water Resources Dec. 31. If groundwater pumping near the California Aqueduct continues at current levels through the…
Read More
• •

Nuts getting a bad rap for sinking the California Aqueduct

• by Lois Henry
State water officials are blaming almond and pistachio orchards for sinking the California Aqueduct before all the evidence is in, according to one western Kern County water district manager. “They need to do more homework,” said Jason Gianquinto, General Manager of the Semitropic Water Storage District. “It’s easy to say, ‘Hey, this area is subsiding…
Read More
•

Kern’s final groundwater plan approved

• by Lois Henry
After months of fireworks over low-ball pumping numbers and concerns that some groundwater agencies wouldn’t get on board, Kern’s last Groundwater Sustainability Plan was approved Wednesday with barely a murmur. The Kern Groundwater Authority board of directors voted unanimously to adopt its final GSP with just two weeks to spare before the massive document is…
Read More
Sponsored

Receive the latest news

Don't miss a drop of water news!

Sign up to get our weekly newsletter ‘The Splash’, plus instant news alerts directly to your inbox.