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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...
Stanford study shows where – and why – recharge is uplifting sunken ground
New research reveals why some rivers in the San Joaquin Valley are causing the ground to uplift when others aren’t. The answer lies beneath the ground’s surface. A new study from scientists at Stanford University combines satellite data with airborne electromagnetic (AEM) flight data to see exactly what’s happening with recharged water from the Sierra Nevadas.
Eight years, ten miles and $325 million later, first phase of Friant-Kern Canal fix celebrated
Sun-kissed waters flowing south in the Friant-Kern Canal provided a perfect backdrop on a hot summer morning for a ribbon-cutting celebration that drew more than 100 people, including a who’s-who of local, state and federal water managers. An upbeat mood pervaded the gathering Friday, June 21, which marked the...
Madera Judge asks for more information in lawsuit over fees for groundwater projects
Round one of a lawsuit brought by a group of farmers against Madera County over land assessment fees left both sides standing — for now. On June 18, Madera County Superior Court Judge Brian Enos inched forward on the county’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the California United Water Coalition. He granted the county’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, but gave the coalition 60 days to provide more information.
Domestic well program gets mini launch in Tule subbasin as water managers worry about one agency’s ability to pay its share long term
Board members of Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainablity Agency signed a deal with Self-Help Enterprises this week to respond to dry or damaged drinking water wells. The deal may, or may not, be extended throughout the Tule subbasin as part of a larger effort by managers to revamp their groundwater plan and submit it to the state Water Resources Control Board by July 1 to try and stave off state intervention.
State delays Kaweah subbasin’s probationary hearing date by two months
The state postponed the Kaweah groundwater region’s Nov. 5 probationary hearing until Jan. 7, 2025, according to an announcement at a “state of the subbasin” event held June 19 to answer questions about what probation would mean. “We have some good news for you this afternoon and...
A slew of workshops and presentations set to educate and hear from Tulare County residents about Kaweah groundwater challenges
Tulare County residents who want to express their opinions about possible state intervention in groundwater management to members of the State Water Board will have a chance to do so next week. State water board staff will hold two public workshops June 24 (virtual) and June 27 (in person) in...
Kern pistachio farmer ordered to pay $30 million in back fees to high desert groundwater agency
An Orange County court on Friday approved an injunction mandating that Mojave Pistachios LLC pay $30 million in back fees owed to the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority for pumping groundwater without an allocation in Kern County’s eastern desert. That $30 million is the accumulation of a $2,130-per-acre-foot fee...
New program to help Kern residents with nitrate-tainted water
A new water quality initiative in Kern County is gearing up to go live in the next few months to help residents whose water is contaminated with nitrates. The state’s nitrate control program launched in 2021. It offers free well testing and water deliveries for residents whose wells test over the limit for nitrates. The program is mandated by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and funded by nitrate polluters throughout the valley.
Proposed state cuts would sever water lifeline for tens of thousands of disadvantaged San Joaquin Valley residents
More than 20,000 San Joaquin Valley residents could be left high and dry, literally, by Sacramento politicians intent on using $17.5 million that had paid for water trucked to their homes to help fill California’s gaping two-year $56 billion deficit. A local nonprofit that has been hauling water to...
Kaweah managers link arms with Self-Help in new domestic well partnership
When the next drought hits and domestic wells start going dry, many rural Tulare County residents will have a sturdy, new lifeline to grab onto. Groundwater managers in the Kaweah subbasin, in the northern portion of Tulare’s flatlands, signed a $5.8 million annual deal with Self-Help Enterprises to provide rapid response and long-term fixes focused on residential wells.
MEETING NOTES: New water authority created; state drums up support for delta tunnel
Rosedale Rio-Bravo Packet: CLICK HERE. New authority: Several members of the Kern subbasin met to appoint representatives to the newly formed Kern Non-Districted Land Authority, formerly known as the Kern Groundwater Authority. The Kern Groundwater Authority disbanded as of its last meeting in May and a new joint powers agreement...
Petition asks California’s highest court to wade into Kern River legal fracas
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...
State allegedly ghosted Merced’s attempts to get permission to clear creeks for months before the floods
Evidence is stacking up against the state in one of multiple lawsuits over last year’s devastating floods in Merced County. One of the most stunning new pieces of evidence is a string of 12 emails from Merced County staff that went ignored by the state for more than four months before last year’s floods.
Still sinking rebuilt section of Friant-Kern Canal will officially “open” after ribbon-cutting ceremony
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for a newly rebuilt – but still sinking – portion of the Friant-Kern Canal is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 21. The public is invited to attend. The event, to be held at the Avenue 136 bridge in Porterville, marks the completion of Phase...
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