NEWS

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…
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…
by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
A new water quality initiative in Kern County is gearing up to go live in the next few months to help residents whose water is contaminated with nitrates. The state’s nitrate control program launched in 2021. It offers free well testing and water deliveries for residents whose wells test over the limit for nitrates. The…
When the next drought hits and domestic wells start going dry, many rural Tulare County residents will have a sturdy, new lifeline to grab onto. Groundwater managers in the Kaweah subbasin, in the northern portion of Tulare’s flatlands, signed a $5.8 million annual deal with Self-Help Enterprises to provide rapid response and long-term fixes focused…
As the date of reckoning for excessive groundwater pumping in Tulare County grows closer, lobbying by water managers and growers has ramped up. The Friant Water Authority, desperate to protect its newly rebuilt –  yet still sinking – Friant-Kern Canal, has beseeched the Water Resources Control Board to get involved. Specifically, it has asked board…
The Friant-Kern Canal was called out specifically as one of the reasons the state should take over pumping in the Tule groundwater subbasin in Tulare County. The recommendation was contained in a recently released staff report to the Water Resources Control Board. While the report stated groundwater management plans covering the subbasin didn’t adequately address…
The small Kern-Tulare Water District moved forward recently in breaking away from two other groundwater agencies to form its own independent groundwater sustainability agency (GSA). As the state’s historic Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) turns 10 this year and the 2040 deadline to bring aquifers into balance edges closer, groundwater agencies have splintered and reformed…
As another storm barrels toward California, local officials are warning residents to stay up to date on weather conditions and be prepared in case of flooding, power outages or other emergencies.  An atmospheric river will bring widespread rain and gusty winds throughout the San Joaquin Valley starting Saturday night. The storm will last into Monday,…
State staff revealed it will be well into 2025 before all of the “inadequate” groundwater subbasins will start probationary hearings.  The state Water Resources Control Board held a meeting on Tuesday where staff discussed the tentative schedule and heard from water agencies and members of the public.  The Water Board is the enforcement arm under…
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