water rights Archives

Petition asks California’s highest court to wade into Kern River legal fracas

June 12, 2024

• by Lois Henry

Plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit over the Kern River filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to review an order that tossed out an injunction many had anticipated would guarantee a flowing river through Bakersfield. Specifically, the petition asks the Supreme Court to direct the 5th District Court of Appeal to explain why it stayed…

Uncategorized

High schoolers deepen their water knowledge at Sacramento conference

April 8, 2024

• by Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Acronyms are so prevalent in the water industry that stringing several together can form an impressive-sounding sentence. That’s exactly what Hanford High School junior Morgan Carrroll did at an April 5 workshop in Sacramento called Water 101 put on by the Water Education Foundation. After winning a game of bingo no less. The bingo game…

Uncategorized

Judge leans toward dismissing some – but not key – actions in ongoing Kern River lawsuit

January 31, 2024

• by Lois Henry

Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp let the battalion of attorneys in court Wednesday know he was inclined to drop at least one cause of action in the ongoing lawsuit brought by several public interest groups against the City of Bakersfield for dewatering the Kern River. But he likely won’t dismiss one of the…

Rivers • Uncategorized

Court to consider cutting water diversions out of Kern River

October 3, 2023

• by Lois Henry

A preliminary injunction that could cut water being taken out of the Kern River if those diversions are harmful to fish will be taken up Friday, October 13 in a Kern County courtroom. The request for the injunction was filed in August by a group of entities suing the City of Bakersfield for what it…

Rivers • Uncategorized

Will a pending water rights bill on Gov. Newsom’s desk be a game changer in California water? It depends

September 15, 2023

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A water rights bill that made it through the Legislature this year is, arguably, a much weakened version of its original form, but the fact that it addresses senior rights at all is a significant step, according to experts. Senate Bill 389, which clarifies the state Water Resources Control Board’s ability to investigate senior water…

Rivers

Bakersfield to take a deep dive on the Kern River – supplies, demands and rights

February 21, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Bakersfield City Council at its meeting Wednesday will likely approve a $288,350 contract to conduct a detailed study of the city’s water supplies and demands with a strong focus on Kern River operations. Though the proposed study, on the consent agenda, isn’t in direct response to a lawsuit filed last year against the city…

SGMA • Uncategorized

Desert groundwater agency mulls how to get water from San Joaquin Valley

December 17, 2022

• by Rose Horowitch, SJV Water reporting intern

A high-desert groundwater agency in eastern Kern County that’s in the midst of buying water from Kings County in the San Joaquin Valley, recently considered alternatives for how to actually get that water up and over the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority, which covers the Ridgecrest area, got updates on…

dams

Question of water rights looms over controversial proposed new dam

November 21, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A controversial proposed dam seems to have a new pathway forward. But how far will it get through California’s byzantine world of water rights? Nobody seems to agree on an answer. The Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir is a joint project between the Del Puerto Water District and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractor Authority on…

Policy

Speaker: Government control creeping ever further into water rights

September 27, 2022

• by Lois Henry

In a fast-paced trip through the evolution of California’s water rights, attorney Valerie Kincaid explained how the system has gone from the “wild, wild west” to one pervaded by ever greater government creep. By expanding its authorities under what had been thought of as several limited court decisions, state government is now essentially dictating operations…

Drought

Bulk of money in state’s plan to buy water rights directed at northern California watersheds

June 15, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

A California Senate proposal to spend $2 billion to buy senior water rights would focus mostly on rights in northern California watersheds with another large chunk aimed at farmland retirement throughout the state. The proposal is included in an $18.5 billion climate plan within the state budget, which likely won’t be finalized until the end…

NEWS

Petition asks California’s highest court to wade into Kern River legal fracas

High schoolers deepen their water knowledge at Sacramento conference

Judge leans toward dismissing some – but not key – actions in ongoing Kern River lawsuit

Court to consider cutting water diversions out of Kern River

Will a pending water rights bill on Gov. Newsom’s desk be a game changer in California water? It depends

Bakersfield to take a deep dive on the Kern River – supplies, demands and rights

Desert groundwater agency mulls how to get water from San Joaquin Valley

Question of water rights looms over controversial proposed new dam

Speaker: Government control creeping ever further into water rights

Bulk of money in state’s plan to buy water rights directed at northern California watersheds

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