San Joaquin Valley

Overview April 24, 2014

San Joaquin Valley

Aquafornia news January 18, 2019 Escalon Times

Oakdale, South San Joaquin irrigation districts join water plan lawsuit

Citing what they say would be a disastrous decision for the region, the Oakdale and South San Joaquin Irrigation Districts have joined with other members of the San Joaquin Tributaries Authority (SJTA) in a lawsuit challenging the state’s right to arbitrarily increase flows in the Stanislaus and two other rivers.

Aquafornia news January 17, 2019 Water Education Foundation

Key California ag region ponders what’s next after voters spurn bond to fix sinking Friant-Kern Canal

Land subsidence from overpumping of San Joaquin Valley groundwater sank portions of the Friant-Kern Canal, the 152-mile conduit that conveys water from the San Joaquin River to farms that help fuel a multibillion-dollar agricultural economy. A plan to fix it helped sink the $8.8 billion Proposition 3 bond measure last November. Now San Joaquin Valley water managers are trying to figure out another way to restore the canal, not only to keep farmers farming, but to aid the valley’s overtaxed groundwater aquifers. By Gary Pitzer in Western Water.

Aquafornia news January 17, 2019 Science Daily

Study: Idled farmland presents habitat restoration opportunities in San Joaquin Desert

Most of the native habitat in California’s San Joaquin Desert has been converted to row crops and orchards, leaving 35 threatened or endangered species confined to isolated patches of habitat. A significant portion of that farmland, however, is likely to be retired in the coming decades due to groundwater overdraft, soil salinity, and climate change. A new study … found that restoration of fallowed farmland could play a crucial role in habitat protection and restoration strategies for the blunt-nosed leopard lizard and other endangered species.

Aquafornia news January 16, 2019 Association of California Water Agencies

Blog: Gov. Newsom unveils $144 billion budget

The budget specifically calls out funding for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water. It discusses the need to find a stable funding source for long-term operation and maintenance of drinking water systems in disadvantaged communities, stating that existing loan and grant programs are limited to capital improvements.

Post January 15, 2019 CBS Sacramento

New Powerhouse Science Center will educate visitors on California water issues

A section of the museum will also be dedicated to water, teaching visitors how much water it takes to grow crops, how California farmers lead the world in conservation, and how the state’s complicated water storage and delivery system works, said Mike Wade, the executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition. The Coalition is the title sponsor for the exhibits and has drawn on several farming organizations, including Farm Credit, to help build and maintain the exhibits.

Aquafornia news January 15, 2019 CalWatchdog.com

Blog: Despite record budget surplus, Gov. Newsom wants new water, phone taxes

Specific details have not yet emerged on Newsom’s plan, but it’s expected to be similar to a rejected 2018 proposal from state Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, to tax residential customers 95 cents a month to help fund water improvements in rural farming communities in the Central Valley and throughout the state. It would raise about $110 million to get clean water to what the McClatchy News Service estimated last year to be 360,000 people without such access. Others looking at the problem see it as much worse.

Aquafornia news January 14, 2019 California WaterBlog

Blog: Shared interest in universal safe drinking water

California’s failure to provide safe, affordable drinking water to the remaining roughly 1% of residents is probably the most solvable and affordable of California’s many difficult water problems. There will always be isolated small systems with vexing problems, but the number of Californians currently without access to safe affordable drinking water is embarrassing and irresponsibly high.

Aquafornia news January 14, 2019 Modesto Bee

Gavin Newsom visits Stanislaus County to talk safe drinking water

A day after proposing a tax on drinking water, Gov. Gavin Newsom took a “surprise” road trip to meet with Stanislaus County residents in a community known for having unsafe wells. Newsom and his cabinet made their first stop at the Monterey Park Tract in Ceres, where he held a roundtable discussion with people who for years had to use bottled water for drinking and cooking because their community’s two wells were long-contaminated with nitrates and arsenic.

Related articles

Modesto Bee: Opinion: Gov. Newsom delivers a message: We’re in this together.

Manteca Bulletin: Opinion: In office less than a week & governor wants to tax your drinking water

Aquafornia news January 14, 2019 Merced Sun-Star

Editorial: Water districts on Merced, Stanislaus, Tuolumne had no choice but to sue the state

The State Water Resources Control Board proved back on Dec. 12 that it wasn’t listening to a single thing anyone from our region was saying. By voting to impose draconian and scientifically unjustifiable water restrictions on our region, four of the five board members tuned out dozens of scientists, water professionals and people who live near the rivers.

Aquafornia news January 11, 2019 San Francisco Chronicle

Friday’s Top of the Scroll: San Francisco sues state over potentially drastic water reductions

The city of San Francisco is not standing down in California’s latest water war, joining a lawsuit against the state on Thursday to stop it from directing more of the Sierra Nevada’s cool, crisp flows to fish instead of people.

Related articles:

KQED: San Francisco is fighting California’s plan to save salmon. Wait. What?

Sacramento Bee: San Francisco, farmers team up to fight California’s ‘water grab’

Modesto Bee: Fight over water heads to court: Irrigation districts sue state board

Bay City News Service: City joins lawsuit against Bay-Delta Plan

Aquafornia news January 8, 2019 San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: State should use science to decide Delta water flows

Jon Rosenfield: Last month the State Water Resources Control Board finally required increased flows from three San Joaquin River tributaries, as the first step in a process to update water quality standards for the San Francisco Bay estuary. The board opted for weaker environmental protections in order to reduce impacts to agribusiness and San Francisco, ignoring the potential for changed agricultural practices and investment in sustainable water use to ease or eliminate the impact of reduced water diversions.

Aquafornia news January 7, 2019 The Revelator

Blog: 2019 Will Be a Big Year for Water

At stake is an important rule that defines which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. It’s also poised to be a year of reckoning on the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of farmland. And it could also be a landmark year for water management in California, with several key issues coming to a head.

Aquafornia news January 7, 2019 California Water Research

Blog: Environmental Groups Urge New Congress to Fund Seismic Fix at San Luis Dam

A coalition of environmental groups has called on California members of Congress to prioritize the San Luis (B.F. Sisk) Dam seismic remediation over federal funding for new California dams. San Luis Dam is in a very seismically active area. Independently reviewed risk assessments for Reclamation have shown that a large earthquake could lead to crest settlement and overtopping of the dam, which would result in large uncontrolled releases and likely dam failure.

Aquafornia news July 23, 2014 Fresno Bee

Editorial: Madera County Supervisors Premature in Approving Gunner Ranch

From The Fresno Bee:

With California — particularly its farm economy — suffering from the effects of a historic drought, it is imperative that our leaders act responsibly to protect water resources.

Aquafornia news July 21, 2014 Fresno Bee

Drought Drying Up Small Central Valley Farmers’ Future

From The Fresno Bee:

This time of year, May Vu’s farm in Sanger should be carpeted with blooming flowers and a bounty of vegetables. But a failing irrigation pump and a nearly empty well have dried up Vu’s farm and with it, her source of income.

Aquafornia news July 21, 2014 Stockton Record

Abundant Algae Fouling San Joaquin River Potentially Toxic

From the Stockton Record:

A state official confirmed Friday that a potentially toxic form of blue-green algae is blooming in the San Joaquin River. It’s unknown whether this is the same algae greening up the waterfront area only a few miles away.

Aquafornia news July 18, 2014 Fresno Bee

Fresno City Council Opts for Study Before Deciding Water Referendum

From The Fresno Bee:

The Fresno City Council on Thursday voted to do a two-week study on the economic effects of Measure W, a possible referendum on the higher water rates passed last year by the council.

Aquafornia news July 17, 2014 Fresno Bee

Fresno to Consider Powerful Law for Recycled Wastewater

From The Fresno Bee:

Fresno is taking another step toward making liquid gold out of its sewage.

Aquafornia news July 17, 2014 Modesto Bee

Turlock Irrigation District, Del Puerto Spar Over Recycled Water

From The Modesto Bee:

The Turlock Irrigation District and the Del Puerto Water District both seek to buy treated wastewater from the city of Turlock.

Aquafornia news July 15, 2014 Fresno Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill to Protect San Joaquin River Banks

From The Fresno Bee:

Gov. Jerry Brown last week signed legislation allowing California peace officers to cite violators of San Joaquin River Conservancy regulations.

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