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“Groundhog day meets purgatory.” The tale of the sinking Tule subbasin
When you’re done, you’re done. And the Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) is done. The district recently issued its new groundwater plan — purposely without coordination among the other groundwater agencies in the Tule subbasin. In the San Joaquin Valley water world, that’s the equivalent...
Kern subbasin’s third try at groundwater plan fails to avert state enforcement action
Noting that Kern County residents could suffer “urgent impacts” to their drinking water from continued agricultural groundwater overpumping, staff at the state Water Resources Control Board announced Thursday they are recommending the entire Kern subbasin be put on probation. Probation is the first step toward a possible state...
Ag districts to fund water projects, and more, in several disadvantaged west Fresno County communities
Four large agricultural water districts have kicked in an initial $580,000 to pay for water projects in several communities dotting the vast farming areas of western Fresno County. The funding amount will remain the same until the districts revisit the program in three years. The four districts – Central California...
Kern County farmland values continue downward slide
Farmland valuations continued their downward trajectory in Kern County, in some cases dropping a whopping 47.6% over the first six months of 2024, according to the second quarter Kern County Ag Land Values report put out by brokerage firm Alliance Ag Services LLC. Some farmland has dropped back to, or...
State celebrates five years and secure water for hundreds of thousands of Californians thanks to the SAFER drinking water program
State officials, advocates and residents gathered in Porterville on Monday to celebrate the five-year mark of a state drinking water program born of the crippling 2012-2016 drought. That’s when the entire community of east Porterville went dry – for months. There was no government program available to help and nonprofits...
MEETING NOTES: Canal and well fencing repair costs adding up
Meeting: North Kern Water Storage District board of directors. General Manager Dave Hampton said fencing costs jumped from an average $2,300 a month to $10,457 in July as the district fenced off some of its groundwater wells and has had to repair damage to fencing along the Beardsley canal near Olive Drive due to damage caused by homeless people.
Kings County judge rules state overstepped by requiring farmers to meter, report groundwater extractions
The first steps toward possible state control of groundwater pumping in Kings County were derailed under a ruling issued July 15 that said the Water Resources Control Board had overstepped its bounds by requiring meters on wells. The temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction were issued by Kings County Superior...
New(ish) Kern groundwater authority gets underway
A somewhat new groundwater authority held its first meeting Monday with a mandate to represent Kern County lands not covered by existing water districts. The so-called “non-districted lands” within the Kern subbasin (the San Joaquin Valley portion of Kern) had sort of been previously represented by the Kern Groundwater Authority KGA.
Energy storage project above Isabella Lake is back on the table, along with two other similar proposals
A roundly castigated proposal to build a holding reservoir above Isabella Lake in order to pump water up from the lake and run it back down through turbines for power – known as pumped energy storage – is back. And it brought friends. There are now three pumped...
MEETING NOTES: Fish discos, magic water murals and subbasin updates
At the Rosedale Rio-Bravo Water District meeting, water resources manager Trent Taylor acknowledged the work that the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has been doing with the Fish Friendly Diversion projects to try and keep endangered species away from export pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. ”They are doing a...
Authors advocate generational thinking to manage water in the southern San Joaquin Valley
Two college buddies who spent a day fly fishing on the Sacramento River came home with more than fish tales. For retired city planners Greg Collins and James Holloway, it prompted a new book, “Seven Generations: The Past, Present and Future of the Tulare Lake Basin,” published in May.
“Too damn hot.” Farmers look for irrigation sweet spot to cool crops but there’s no beating this heat
If the heat is sapping your will to live, most San Joaquin Valley crops are right there with you. The blast furnace weather has farmers irrigating in cycles, using more frequent bursts, taking advantage of the coolest part of the day; anything to get crops through to harvest. But “it’s...
Protecting domestic wells a key piece of southern Fresno County groundwater agency’s planning
CONTENT USE: Republication, or broadcast, of SJV Water content is allowed with use of the reporter’s byline and publication name, SJV Water, and the following tagline:. SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Reach us at sjvwater@sjvwater.or. • • •...
Appeal of order to keep water in the Kern River moves forward
Agricultural water districts with rights to the Kern River filed an opening brief recently on their appeal of a local judge’s order last fall to keep enough water in the river for fish. The water districts insist that when Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp issued a preliminary...
Springville residents irate over continued water outages, company blames residents
More than a year after floods caused water outages in the small town of Springville in the Tulare County foothills, residents are still struggling with water loss and contamination. Residents are furious with Del Oro Water Company, the private, for-profit company that serves the town, and blame it for the...
Kaweah’s new groundwater plan may be enough to negate state action, if they can see eye-to-eye on subsidence
The state came to Tulare County and gave water managers in the Kaweah subbasin kudos for being proactive on their new plan to stop over pumping in the region. The head of the state Water Resources Control Board Joaquin Esquivel himself was there to praise the managers. “We are heartened...
VIDEO: Beavers reintroduced on the Tule River Reservation
Beavers were reintroduced to the South Fork Tule River on June 12 thanks to a partnership between the Tule River Tribe and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Tribal leaders started working on a pathway to reintroduce beavers on the reservation a decade ago. After years of research and...
Tule land trust seeks new board member
The Tule Basin Land & Water Conservation Trust, formed in 2020 by area farmers and water managers intent on finding solutions to the region’s groundwater woes, is seeking a new board member. The prospective board member must have experience in irrigated agricultural land within Pixley, Lower Tule, or Tri-County...
Okieville water recharge project a “poster child” of partnership to protect residential water
More than 40 engineers, landowners, water officials and drinking water advocates gathered along the banks of a full, flowing canal in Tulare County Thursday to inaugurate the Okieville Recharge Basin. But the first order of business on the hot summer day was snow cones. The 21-acre project is a “poster...
Chaos continues to reign among Kings County water agencies following state action
It’s been two and a half months since the state brought the hammer down on water managers in Kings County for lacking an adequate plan to stem overpumping in the region and the situation is, in a word – chaotic. One groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) has imploded, leaving...
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