A pair of bills that arose out of the ongoing fight over groundwater in eastern Kern County’s desert have come to very different conclusions – one awaiting the Governor’s signature and the other tabled indefinitely. Both bills address a process known as groundwater adjudication, in which a judge decides how much water is available in a basin and then assigns pumping rights to various users. These cases can go on for up to 10 years as courts sift through rights going back more than 100 years and try to find and engage with every pumper in the disputed region.

Other groundwater news:

• KERO (Bakersfield, Calif.): SGMA plan approved but local farmers face uncertain future
• Stocktonia (Stockton, Calif.): Stockton breaks ground on $17 million Groundwater Recharge Project
• KJZZ (Phoenix): Arizona homebuilders challenge housing moratorium in areas with dwindling groundwater
• Colorado Newsline (Denver): Opinion: What Colorado communities can learn from the Buc-ee’s saga