NEWS

Three Tulare County groundwater agencies that cover areas with severe subsidence due to over pumping spent the last year implementing programs to stem that tide and collected more than $11 million in the process. The Lower Tule River Irrigation District, Pixley Irrigation District and Eastern Tule groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA) are among the first to…
The state gave its first shot of cash – $29.8 million – toward fixing the sagging Friant-Kern Canal on Thursday. Another $7.4 million could be added to the pot once the Friant Water Authority, which operates the canal, secures federal funding it is seeking. That would bring this year’s full contribution from the state Department…
  A groundbreaking ceremony was held on the banks of the Friant-Kern Canal on Tuesday, to celebrate the start of construction to repair a portion of the sinking canal. Leadership from the Bureau of Reclamation, California’s Department of Water Resources and the Friant Water Authority spoke at the event.  For decades, farmers in California’s San…
It’s a new year and time to take stock. By that I mean, I’m super busy doing tons of paperwork for taxes and fundraisers and board meetings and haven’t had time to write. So, please enjoy this short WATER QUIZ (no cheating on the Google machine!) and feel free to talk among yourselves. 1. What…
Six subbasins covering nearly all of  the central and southern San Joaquin Valley do not have adequate plans to address falling groundwater levels, according to letters sent Thursday by the Department of Water Resources to groundwater agencies within those subbasins. Subbasins with plans not likely to pass muster include the Delta-Mendota, Kaweah, Kern County, Kings,…
by Theo Whitcomb, High Country News
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…
by Lois Henry
The state Department of Water Resources opened the spigot Tuesday on the first $100 million, of $200 million, budgeted over the next two fiscal years to fix several key canals that have sunk because of groundwater pumping. Subsidence has reduced carrying capacity in the canals from 15% up to 60% in the Friant-Kern Canal, which…
by Danielle Bergstrom, Fresnoland, Lois Henry and Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Four groundwater plans in the Central Valley — including those for Westlands Water District, Chowchilla Water District and the Merced and Eastern San Joaquin subbasins — don’t show how they will protect water quality, keep drinking water wells from going dry or stop already sinking land from sinking further, according to the Department of Water…
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…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
California’s canals are sinking. Excessive groundwater pumping has collapsed the land beneath several key canals, crimping their ability to move water. Fixing them will be expensive. There are two bills moving through the state Legislature and Congress that could provide some funding. This is the second try for the state bill, Senate Bill 559 by…
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