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Lawsuit accuses Friant Water Authority of holding secret meetings that resulted in massive fees pinned on a handful of Tulare County irrigation districts

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
The legal fracas over who should pay to fix the sinking Friant-Kern Canal grew Friday when three Tulare County irrigation districts sued the Friant Water Authority for imposing steep fees on the districts approved through allegedly secret communications and serial meetings. In a suit filed Nov. 1 the Terra Bella, Saucelito and Porterville irrigation districts…
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State grilling prompts Tulare County groundwater agency to make changes

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
The Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency board took several actions at a recent meeting following a severe grilling by state Water Resources Control Board members during the region’s probation hearing on Sept. 17. Board members called subsidence in Eastern Tule’s borders “alarming” and said its groundwater accounting and allocation methods “don’t make sense.” The board…
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Kings County judge rules against state Water Board in high-stakes groundwater case

• by Lois Henry, Lisa McEwen, Monserrat Solis
Editor’s note: Monserrat Solis is a California Local News Fellow  The state Water Resources Control Board exceeded its authority, operated under a web of “underground regulations” and made unlawful demands of Kings County water managers, according to a preliminary injunction that is a near total repudiation of state actions in its attempt to reign in…
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Domestic well program gets mini launch in Tule subbasin as water managers worry about one agency’s ability to pay its share long term

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
Board members of Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainablity Agency signed a deal with Self-Help Enterprises this week to respond to dry or damaged drinking water wells. The deal may, or may not, be extended throughout the Tule subbasin as part of a larger effort by managers to revamp their groundwater plan and submit it to the…
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Sparks fly as Tulare County agency is accused of being “unable and unwilling” to curb over pumping

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
Fireworks were already popping between board members of a key Tulare County groundwater agency recently over an 11th hour attempt to rein in pumping in the severely overdrafted area. The main issue at the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) meeting June 6 was whether to require farmers in subsidence prone areas to install meters…
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A Tulare County groundwater agency on the hot seat for helping sink the Friant-Kern Canal holds private tours for state regulators

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
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…
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Sinking canal has “everyone’s attention” and could put entire Tule subbasin under state control

• by Lois Henry and Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
Fallout over the ever sinking Friant-Kern Canal could affect growers throughout the Tule subbasin regardless of whether they get water from the canal. The state Water Resources Control Board already has the subbasin in its cross hairs for neglecting to create a coordinated plan to bring aquifers into balance under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act…
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Facing possible state action, SJV groundwater agencies are scrambling to comply with SGMA, leaving some landowners in the lurch.

• by Lois Henry
Growers in a chunk of land sandwiched between Highway 43 and Earlimart in the south valley learned earlier this week they are being booted out of the groundwater sustainability agency they had hoped would help solve their overdraft issues. The Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) board voted to terminate its oversight of what’s…
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