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Tag: eastern Stanislaus County almond orchards

Trinitas Partners Farming Declares Bankruptcy

Trinitas Partners, the Bay Area investment firm that bought cattle land in Stanislaus County’s eastern foothills over a decade ago and then converted it to almond orchards, has declared bankruptcy. Trinitas made headlines when it was annexed into Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) and jumped ahead of local farmers who protested that its out-of-town owners were […]

Groundwater Extraction Needs Oversight Now, Says Kennedy

Dr. Vance Kennedy is a retired research hydrologist, with degrees in chemical engineering, geochemistry, and geology. There are hundreds of deep wells in the foothills east of the San Joaquin Valley, especially in Stanislaus and Merced Counties. They are depleting the general water table at an alarming rate. When that water table drops by several […]

Pawns in the Water Game

Dr. Vance Kennedy was visiting Modesto Reservoir in eastern Stanislaus County last week when someone asked him what the likelihood is that almond orchards around the reservoir are pumping water from the reservoir via seepage into nearby aquifers. “One-hundred percent,” replied Kennedy.  Kennedy retired from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) after winning its highest possible […]

Can the State Reverse Downward Trend of Groundwater Supplies?

“Why not do a mass balance?” said Vance Kennedy. “It’s unsustainable on the face of it.” Kennedy was speaking during a question and answer session with Doreen, “DeDe,” D’Adamo, a member of California’s State Water Resources Control Board. D’Adamo was in Oakdale last Wednesday to meet with members of the Stanislaus Water Coalition, a group […]

Boggs Rocks Water Committee

When Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini made a surprise appearance at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee (WAC), people expected fireworks. DeMartini has been an outspoken critic of the WAC since its formation early this year. In theory, the WAC is supposed to advise county supervisors on water policy. In fact, it […]

Valley Citizens Unite Against Mining Water

It’s only fitting that some of the speakers during Tuesday’s public comment portion of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors meeting had names like “Smith” and “Jones.” It was one of those rare moments when ordinary citizens speak in unison and form a truly “public” opinion. The keynote was sounded by John Booker, a retired […]

City of Modesto Drinking Water

Last week, City of Modesto water users received notice that, “water allocation deliveries from MID will be decreased from an average of 30 million gallons to 17 million gallons.” City residents will receive groundwater “to supplement the reduction.” “Customers may notice that the water at their taps contains more minerals than usual,” said the city. […]

Facts? “Not my job,” says the Bee

Some call it, “he said, she said,” journalism. Others call it “fair and balanced.” Whatever the name, the journalistic practice of giving equal weight to “both sides” of an issue has become a pernicious enemy of truth. Just consider the Modesto Bee’s July 28 interview with Sean Roddy of Henning Bros. Drilling Company. Roddy has […]