SGMA

Hundreds of wells in Tulare Lake aquifer are at risk of going dry. Thursday’s recommendation is the first time that state officials have moved to crack down on local plans that fail to stop excessive groundwater pumping.

In 2014, the mammoth groundwater management law known as SGMA promised to overhaul water use in the state. A recent conference showed how the rubber is hitting the road.

There’s no end in sight for California’s prolonged three-year drought. With fewer agricultural jobs available in the San Joaquin Valley, will farmworkers decide to search for new opportunities outside the region?

Since Gov. Newsom's emergency drought order on March 28, Kern County hasn’t issued a single agricultural well permit. Frustration in the ag community is at a boiling point.

Looking at water levels near Hanford in Kings County, researchers determined land will continue sinking for centuries unless groundwater is replenished in those areas.

The Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency covers eastern Fresno County and a chunk of northern Tulare County. Its board of directors approved a letter disavowing ag's responsibility to raise groundwater levels enough to protect all domestic wells.

The new proposed funding comes at a critical time as groundwater restrictions take effect and drought grips the state for a third year in a row.

The research paper advised that more robust financial planning at the start of major multi-agency water infrastructure projects can help ensure that all partners share the resulting water and financial outcomes.

Groundwater limits and fees netted $11 million in 2021 from Tulare Co. farmers. Most of that money will pay a share to fix the sagging Friant-Kern Canal. The rest will pay for projects to stem the groundwater free fall that sank the canal in the first place.

They’re optimistic that increasing agriculture's resilience to a changing climate can also improve its relationship with the environment.