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Judge in Boswell-Vidovich battle says she can’t “stretch” laws to keep groundwater from leaving Kings County

• by Lois Henry
A pair of lawsuits focused on trespass and environmental issues surrounding construction of a 48-inch water pipeline in Kings County are, in many ways, just a token of a much larger issue: Groundwater leaving the county, a judge noted on Friday. “The fact that groundwater is an issue in this county isn’t disputed,” Judge Valerie…
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Groundwater agencies at the epicenter of sinking beneath the Friant-Kern Canal have restricted pumping, raised fees in hopes of curbing water table free fall

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
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…
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Decision in Boswell-Vidovich pipeline fight set for April 1

• by Lois Henry
A Kings County Superior Court Judge will decide April 1 whether a large water pipeline barreling from Lemoore southwest past Stratford must be reviewed under the state’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Regardless of that decision, the full-blown water war that has erupted between Sandridge Partners or J.G. Boswell Company, who are behind this and…
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From bulldozers to helicopters, Boswell-Vidovich battles continue

• by Lois Henry
An ongoing tiff over construction of a large water pipeline in Kings County has gone airborne, according to a lawsuit filed by Sandridge Partners. Sandridge, controlled by John Vidovich, is accusing the J.G. Boswell Company of purposely “buzzing” cattle on its lands using a large helicopter. The actions have been ongoing since late January through…
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Westlands growers fear groundwater power grab by district general manager

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Divisions are deepening within the giant Westlands Water District as some growers fear the district’s longtime, controversial general manager is amassing too much power. In mid-February, district staff proposed new groundwater rules that would give General Manager Tom Birmingham almost total control over how groundwater is accounted for and to which grower accounts it would…
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Feds not giving “fair share” of water to all contractors, some say

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
In California’s byzantine water world, some water districts are, apparently, more equal than others, to paraphrase George Orwell. That appears to be the case in the federally operated Central Valley Project, particularly when it comes to two main sets of water districts: the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors and the Friant Contractors. On Feb. 27,…
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Got connections in rural SJV towns? Know how to work a room? The state may have a job for you…

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
If you know your way around impoverished, rural communities with bad drinking water in the San Joaquin Valley, the state needs your help. A highly anticipated $130 million annual program to fix bad drinking water systems in disadvantaged communities has sputtered getting off the ground because the state can’t seem to connect with residents. So,…
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Lois Henry calls it quits!!!!

• by Lois Henry
Longtime water board member in the Santa Cruz area Lois Henry (not this reporter) has resigned her position on the San Lorenzo Valley Water District. Why should San Joaquin Valley readers care? Because she’s a strong leader who brought a lot of practical, common sense to delivering clean, reliable drinking water to her neighbors and,…
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