NEWS

CONTENT USE: Republication, or broadcast, of SJV Water content is allowed with use of the reporter’s byline and publication name, SJV Water, and the following tagline: SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Reach us at sjvwater@sjvwater.or                  …
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Beavers were reintroduced to the South Fork Tule River on June 12 thanks to a partnership between the Tule River Tribe and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Tribal leaders started working on a pathway to reintroduce beavers on the reservation a decade ago. After years of research and advocacy, CDFW received funding and…
More than 40 engineers, landowners, water officials and drinking water advocates gathered along the banks of a full, flowing canal in Tulare County Thursday to inaugurate the Okieville Recharge Basin. But the first order of business on the hot summer day was snow cones.  The 21-acre project is a “poster child” of partnership that will…
New research reveals why some rivers in the San Joaquin Valley are causing the ground to uplift when others aren’t. The answer lies beneath the ground’s surface.  A new study from scientists at Stanford University combines satellite data with airborne electromagnetic (AEM) flight data to see exactly what’s happening with recharged water from the Sierra…
Sun-kissed waters flowing south in the Friant-Kern Canal provided a perfect backdrop on a hot summer morning for a ribbon-cutting celebration that drew more than 100 people, including a who’s-who of local, state and federal water managers.  An upbeat mood pervaded the gathering Friday, June 21, which marked the completion of Phase I of the…
by Hannah Frances Johansson, Freelance for SJV Water
Round one of a lawsuit brought by a group of farmers against Madera County over land assessment fees left both sides standing — for now. On June 18, Madera County Superior Court Judge Brian Enos inched forward on the county’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the California United Water Coalition. He granted the…
by Lisa McEwen and Lois Henry, SJV Water
The state postponed the Kaweah groundwater region’s Nov. 5 probationary hearing until Jan. 7, 2025, according to an announcement at a “state of the subbasin” event held June 19 to answer questions about what probation would mean. “We have some good news for you this afternoon and we could all use some good news,” Mark…
Tulare County residents who want to express their opinions about possible state intervention in groundwater management to members of the State Water Board will have a chance to do so next week. State water board staff will hold two public workshops June 24 (virtual) and June 27 (in person) in Visalia to explain its draft…
An Orange County court on Friday approved an injunction mandating that Mojave Pistachios LLC pay $30 million in back fees owed to the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority for pumping groundwater without an allocation in Kern County’s eastern desert. That $30 million is the accumulation of a $2,130-per-acre-foot fee for non-allocated pumping that was established…
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