Lisa McEwen, SJV Water

Newly released state guidelines on how to get a handle on subsidence, or land sinking, were received with mixed reactions after they were released by the Department of Water Resources last week.

Residents of Allensworth are on the cusp of finally solving water issues that have plagued the town for more than 100 years and kept it from growing.

New subsidence guidelines from the Department of Water Resources are expected to drop on San Joaquin Valley water managers any day, a prospect that has them both hopeful and worried.

On Jan. 29, the Army Corps, which operates the dams at Kaweah and Success lakes, notified downstream users they were about to release water “at full capacity,” meaning as much as the rivers could handle.

“In the big picture, the amount of water was not huge. It was the process. He (President Trump) has no idea how bad he effed up.”

While many San Joaquin Valley towns were shrouded in tule fog, about 35 locals enjoyed a day under bright sunshine along a creekbed, dodging cowpies and traipsing through crunchy, golden sycamore leaves.

Two San Joaquin Valley water districts voted to break away from the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency this month, clearing a path for them to form their own agencies and groundwater plans in the next six months.

As the date of reckoning for excessive groundwater pumping in Tulare County grows closer, lobbying by water managers and growers has ramped up.

Fallout over the ever sinking Friant-Kern Canal could affect growers throughout the Tule subbasin regardless of whether they get water from the canal.