water

A bank is suing large San Joaquin Valley grower John Vidovich for more than $105 million in allegedly defaulted loans and is demanding the foreclosure and sale of large swaths of farmland, solar sites, a nut-hulling facility and the SunnyGem almond processing plant in Wasco.

The governor vowed to clear the way for more groundwater recharge. Has it worked? “We’re still tinkering around with small numbers,” one expert says.

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

Regulators say California will provide 100% of the water requested by cities and farms for the first time in years thanks to winter storms that filled reservoirs and runoff from a record snowpack.

California ended its voluntary statewide target, triggering concerns from experts that many water supplies remain depleted. Other drought measures remain in place.

While DWR Director Karla Nemeth and her team are hearing from counties about needed resources, they are also assessing the state’s authority to intervene, if needed.

California has been deluged by storms this winter, but fixing the state's severe drought will take more than rain. The state had deeper problems in how it uses water.

As storms melt snowpack, managers released water to prevent reservoirs from overflowing and flooding Central Valley towns — and that sends water into the ocean. The warm rains melt snow that ideally would last into spring and help with water deliveries.

Groundwater plans, largely serving low-income Latino communities, were deemed inadequate for preventing dry wells and sinking land.

Communities still have dry wells. Restoring groundwater takes decades, with costly, long-term replenishment projects — and ultimately, much less pumping.