Water Reliability & Conveyance

State-Federal Drought Emergency Team Releases 2015 Operations Plan

Based on the Dept. of Water Resources' (DWR) first snow survey being under the weather, the interagency state-federal drought emergency team released its 2015 operations plan Thursday night to little notice.  The plan cites very dry conditions and low storage, with multiple competing needs that cannot be met at this point.  Goals are: 1. Operate

Westlands Comments

Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham told the Fresno Bee the negotiations indeed were confidential and completely private. But the existence of the talks was no secret, he said. Westlands has regularly briefed the federal court about the talks, Birmingham said, adding that environmental groups and others last year were told of the six-page “principles of agreement”from

Feds Reach Drainage Deal with Westlands

A staggering economic and environmental problem festering for three decades in the southern San Joaquin Valley would be addressed by a secret deal reached between the Obama administration and farmers — one that is sounding alarms for Bay Area lawmakers. The deal would retire 100,000 acres of farmland damaged by salt and selenium in the

State Boosts South-of-Delta Water Releases, Warns of Future Restrictions

Recent storms will allow California to provide more water to local agencies and farms even as drought conditions stretch into a fourth year, officials announced Thursday. State officials said storms in early December boosted supplies in the state's vast reservoir system enough to give Southern California cities and farms 15 percent of their requested water.

Governor Outlines Water Bond Expenditures Year One

Brown's budget -- much of which is expected to be approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature in Sacramento -- calls for spending $532 million from the water bond, which was Proposition 1. The main areas where he would allocate money this year: $178 million for restoring streams, rivers and watersheds, the source of much of the

Oakdale Approves Fallowing Plan

Pasture owners around Oakdale willing to go without water will be paid for fallowing their land this year, Oakdale Irrigation District directors decided Tuesday. The water saved by idling fields will be sold to thirsty out-of-county water agencies. OID landowners volunteering for the deal could collect millions in “cash incentives” and funds to pay for

Tulare Raises Water Rates

The Tulare City Council ratified an increase in local water rates. Councilman Carlton Jones alone voted to oppose the increase. The decision comes on the heels of the Tulare Board of Public Utilities taking similar action. This is the third of five annual rate increases to bring in additional revenue to Tulare’s water system. The council

Bay Delta Tunnel Plan Drops Intake Pumps

The massive water diversion tunnels proposed in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have undergone another major design change aimed at appeasing local residents: The three intakes planned on the Sacramento River will no longer require pumps. The project, known as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, has been in the works for eight years and is estimated

By |2014-12-22T21:12:37-08:00December 22nd, 2014|Water Reliability & Conveyance|

Groundwater Governance Begins; Merced County Struggles With New Ordinance

The adoption of a Merced County ordinance regulating groundwater transfers was halted today by a handful of last-minute comments and suggestions from stakeholders, including a text message sent by Merced Irrigation District’s general manager to the county CEO. The groundwater ordinance was set for a first reading at the Board of Supervisors meeting today, but

Rural Wells Continue to Dry Up

As California struggles through the drought, the first to suffer are rural residents with shallow private wells and limited incomes. They live in cabins in Modoc County, among the golden rolling hills of Paso Robles, in the farmworker towns of the San Joaquin Valley and a chaparral-covered valley in northern Los Angeles County. Their growing

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