water banking Archives

From failed housing development to long-awaited groundwater bank, McAllister Ranch saga continues

April 19, 2024

• by Lois Henry

More than 13 years after buying half of the 2,100-acre McAllister Ranch – a poster child of the 2007 housing crash – out of foreclosure for use as a groundwater bank, Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District agreed earlier this month to sell its remaining share to Buena Vista Water Storage District. Buena Vista will buy…

Drinking Water • Groundwater

“Massive dollars” needed to clean tainted groundwater from Kern County’s banking projects

February 24, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Southern California’s reliance on Kern County’s prolific groundwater banks for drought insurance could be jeopardized by a chemical known as 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP). The cancer-causing agent has been found in several large groundwater banking operations in Kern and a first look at how much it may cost to clean up is a doozy. Up to $465…

Groundwater • Water Banking

Native American sites to be protected under plan for the long-suffering McAllister Ranch groundwater project

February 15, 2022

• by Lois Henry

In the often hard-fought world of archeological preservation, Colin Rambo is counting the McAllister Ranch groundwater project plan as a “win, win, win.” Rambo, an archeologist with the Tejon Tribe, has been working closely with the City of Bakersfield and the two Kern County water districts behind the project to make sure the “significant” Native…

State System

State’s early zero-water-for-ag projection could have far reaching implications

December 13, 2021

• by Lois Henry

Storms hammering California this week will likely bump up the state’s Dec. 1 projection of zero water for agricultural contractors. But questions about how and why the Department of Water Resources made that projection – and what it means for the future – have left an unsettled wake among San Joaquin Valley agricultural water districts…

Groundwater • Rivers • Water Banking

Proposed groundwater bank sparks legal challenge

August 17, 2021

• by Lois Henry

A battle of groundwater banks is underway in Kern County with accusations that one is poised to mine the local aquifer and sell water outside the area. The two main combatants are the massive Kern Water Bank, which covers 32-square miles straddling Interstate 5 west of Bakersfield, and the Buena Vista Water Storage District, which…

Rivers • Water Banking

Undercurrents of the Kern River’s flow are thick with intrigue, outrage

May 14, 2020

• by Lois Henry

Water is flowing through the heart of Bakersfield in the Kern River and local water managers are shaking their heads in disbelief and frustration. Except, that is, for Art Chianello. Chianello is Bakersfield’s Water Resources Department director and the man behind the healthy flow currently being enjoyed by numerous residents as springtime temperatures heat up….

NEWS

From failed housing development to long-awaited groundwater bank, McAllister Ranch saga continues

“Massive dollars” needed to clean tainted groundwater from Kern County’s banking projects

Native American sites to be protected under plan for the long-suffering McAllister Ranch groundwater project

State’s early zero-water-for-ag projection could have far reaching implications

Proposed groundwater bank sparks legal challenge

Undercurrents of the Kern River’s flow are thick with intrigue, outrage

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