English | Español

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin-in Instagram
Login
Donate
Search

NEWS

Westlands Water District teams up with democrats on massive solar project

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
The powerful, and politically right-leaning Westlands Water District recently teamed up with left-leaning democratic assemblymember Esmeralda Soria on renewable energy.  Her bill, AB 2661, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last month and will allow Westlands in western Fresno County  to oversee the generation, storage and transmission of solar energy.  Within Westlands, about 130,000 acres…
Read More

Westlands uses $1 million in state money to take out orchards, increase recharge

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Westlands Water District has removed 452 acres of almond orchards thanks to a $1 million grant from the state Department of Water Resources (DWR.) It’s one project in an ongoing list aimed at bringing the district’s groundwater into sustainability.  “The district has been acquiring land since 2022 with the goal of reducing groundwater pumping in…
Read More

Water contractors disappointed, frustrated by small increases in allocations

• by SJV Water
Increased water allocations from systems that move water from northern to southern California were met with disappointment and frustration from contractors. Both the Department of Water Resources and Bureau of Reclamation increased allocations this week to 40% of contracted amounts, going up 10% and 5%, respectively. With nearly all the state’s reservoirs filled to above…
Read More

MEETING NOTES: Westlands approves transfers and hears updates on water conditions

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Meeting: Westlands Water District Board Meeting Date: January 18, 2023 Agenda: CLICK HERE Background: Westlands Water District is one of the largest agricultural districts in the country encompassing more than 600,000 acres in western Fresno County and Kings County. It receives surface water from the federal Central Valley Project via the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The…
Read More
•

One Central Valley dam project gets nearly $95 million in funding; two others still in proposal phase

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Three dam expansion projects could increase water storage for use in the Central Valley by a whopping 304,000 acre feet. Each of the projects would raise existing dams, not build new ones. The project that is furthest along would raise the B.F. Sisk Dam in Merced County to expand San Luis Reservoir storage by 130,000…
Read More
•

California’s water contractors get full supply from the state and federal systems

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water
Water users for both the State Water Project and Central Valley Project will get a 100% allocation, agencies announced Thursday. The string of storms that battered California over the past few months have inundated the state with water and built up a record-breaking snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The extraordinary amount of water is…
Read More

Westlands Water District names new leader – Allison Febbo

• by SJV Water
Westlands Water District Names New General Manager Fresno, CA — Today, the Board of Directors of Westlands Water District (District) named Allison Febbo as the next General Manager. With nearly 25 years of experience in natural resources, hydrology, and water operations, Ms. Febbo will be the first woman to serve the District as General Manager.  …
Read More

Long-serving, controversial manager of Westlands Water District resigns

• by Lois Henry
Longtime Westlands Water District General Manager Tom Birmingham announced Nov. 23 that he will retire as of Dec. 31. “I am retiring with extreme pride in the things Westlands had accomplished over the last two decades,” he wrote in an email announcement. Birmingham had faced the likelihood that a newly-elected majority on the Westlands board…
Read More
Sponsored

Receive the latest news

Don't miss a drop of water news!

Sign up to get our weekly newsletter ‘The Splash’, plus instant news alerts directly to your inbox.