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Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

Are Water Sales Delaying Development of Alternative Sources?

August 29, 2021 By Bruce Frohman 5 Comments

If one wants to know how bad a drought is, ask someone whose business it is to plumb the water table and test the effectiveness of wells and pumps. A gentleman in the business told this writer that he is busier than ever. Businesses that rely on well water need to keep the water flowing. Wells need testing to make sure they don’t go dry and to check pumps for […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: California drought, Dry wells San Joaquin Valley, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales, San Joaquin Delta water, San Joaquin Valley aquifer

Valley Water Belongs to the People

July 8, 2021 By Eric Caine 8 Comments

Modesto Resevoir

Much of the history recounted below is from David Igler’s Industrial Cowboys and Mark Arax’s The Dreamt Land. Much appreciation to both. Also, kudos to Lois Henry for journalism in the great tradition. From the very beginning, water in the San Joaquin Valley has been manipulated, controlled and adjudicated by the wealthy and powerful. Its history is a story of exploitation, mostly through the use of serf labor, the courts, […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Audubon vs Superior Court, Boswell Corcoran, Lux vs Haggin, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales, Subsidence San Joaquin Valley, Trinitas Partners Oakdale, Trinitas PSP Maui

Court Ruling on Water Challenges Valley Water Districts

October 9, 2020 By Ronda Lucas 5 Comments

Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors March, 2020

Water in California has always presented unique challenges. Along with these challenges come opportunities for those with enough leadership, vision, courage and determination to conquer them. Our forefathers recognized this reality and helped create a fertile paradise, the world’s bread basket, when they rose to the challenge of harnessing and managing water in a way that protected the environment and developed irrigated agriculture in California’s Great Valley. Today, our water leaders have […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Oakdale Irrigation District, Oakdale Irrigation District sphere of influence, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

Lawsuit Forces Reckoning on Groundwater Authorities

March 22, 2020 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

Groundwater flow charty

In a suit listing dozens of defendants, including Groundwater Sustainability Agencies for the Oakdale Irrigation District, Stanislaus County, and the cities of Stockton, Lodi, and Manteca, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance  (CSPA) has alleged that in adopting their Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), the various agencies and authorities involved failed to follow procedures required by California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) which was signed into law September 16, 2014. More critically, […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, ground water Stanislaus County, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

Another OID Water Scheme Revealed

March 12, 2020 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors

At least three of Oakdale Irrigation District’s (OID) directors seemed reluctant to pursue local water sales during their March 3 meeting. Though they had committed to develop a plan for delivering water to local buyers outside the district the last July, directors Herman Doornenbal, Brad DeBoer, and Tom Orvis seemed to be having second thoughts about following through on the program. When audience members reminded the board some had spent […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

OID: Still Gambling with Its Water Rights

March 6, 2020 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Unsustainable Pumping Graphic

Last July, the Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) Board of Directors agreed to develop a five year plan to deliver water to farmers outside district boundaries but within its sphere of influence. Based on the board’s decision, several farmers who had petitioned for water began making good on their promises to provide infrastructure necessary for the deliveries. In some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent. Then, just last Tuesday, […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Linda Santos Oakdale Irrigation District, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

Trinitas Partners Hires OID Water Attorney: Conflict?

October 30, 2019 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

OID March 20

In a move very likely to revive local controversies and bitter memories, Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) water attorney Tim O’Laughlin has been hired by Trinitas Partners to manage its huge Hawaiian farming operation in Maui, where it’s known as “Mahi Pono.” Now an entity with too many names and subsidiaries to list, Trinitas/Mahi Pono recently purchased 56,000 acres in Maui for $267 million from sugar cane growers Alexander & Baldwin. […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Oakdale Groundwater Association, Oakdale Irrigation District Fallowing Program, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales, Oakdale Irrigation water rates, Trinitas Partners Oakdale

Another Huge Loss for Oakdale Irrigation District

November 28, 2018 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

For any other public entity, the loss suffered on November 27 by Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) in Fresno’s Fifth Appellate District Court would amount to a wake-up call, but given the resistance to facts of three of its board members, General Manager and water attorney, it’s unlikely any of them will come away with a lesson learned. This, after all, is the water district whose own attorney told them they […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Gail Altieri, Linda Santos Oakdale Irrigation District, Oakdale Irrigation District Fallowing Program, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

Why Jeff Denham Wants the Twin Tunnels

September 16, 2018 By Eric Caine 19 Comments

Jeff Denham’s California Congressional District 10 is purple—it’s almost equally divided between red (for Republican) and blue (for Democrat) voters. But despite the almost equal balance between Republicans and Democrats in his district, Jeff Denham votes with his Republican Party 97.8% of the time. Just for comparison’s sake, consider Representative Tom McClintock, Denham’s Republican colleague in nearby District 4. Even though his district leans far more heavily Republican than Denham’s […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: California Water Project, Congressman Jeff Denham, Delta Twin Tunnels, Jeff Denham, Jeff Denham CA-10, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

Notions of Surplus Water a Costly Mirage

September 10, 2018 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

According to UC Davis, 99,000 residents of the San Joaquin Valley have unsafe drinking water. Even more alarming, a recent study by the University of Michigan “predicts that ‘the percentage of U.S. households who will find water bills unaffordable could triple from 11.9% to 35.6%” over the next five years.’” Many people who lack safe drinking water aren’t far from water utilities, but simply lack the infrastructure that would bring […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Delta tunnels, Delta Twin Tunnels, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales

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