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San Joaquin Valley aquifer

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

The Hidden Truth about Valley Water

February 14, 2017 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

The recent deluge throughout Northern California has caused equal parts celebration and outrage. Celebration because it would appear to some the drought is over and outrage because those same celebrants are demonizing anyone who says we’re still in a water emergency. As always, the favored targets for righteous indignation are the government and, “those in environmental groups.” “Why would the state water board tell us we’re still in drought?’ asked […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: San Joaquin Valley aquifer, San Joaquin Valley groundwater, San Joaquin Valley subsidence

Parting the Waters: No Ag Miracles

November 8, 2016 By Eric Caine 7 Comments

They’re still planting trees. Look anywhere around the northern San Joaquin Valley and you’ll see saplings—mostly almonds—being hurled into the ground like spears. This during the worst drought in memory. Most of the new orchards will have few or no surface water rights. They will be strictly groundwater-dependent. And that’s just one reason opposition to the state’s proposals for increased flows along Valley rivers rings so false. “If you increase […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond orchards Stanislaus County, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, San Joaquin Valley aquifer

Dr. Kennedy: Water and Drought in the Valley

May 2, 2015 By Vance Kennedy 2 Comments

Dr. Vance Kennedy

Dr. Vance Kennedy has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Environmental Protection Agency for his work with the U.S. Geological Survey. Now in his nineties, Dr. Kennedy maintains an active interest in water and land use issues in California and especially in the San Joaquin Valley. The following essay represents some of his latest thoughts on water and the drought. The immediate problem posed by the drought is to […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: San Joaquin Valley aquifer, San Joaquin Valley groundwater, Vance Kennedy

Next Up: The Great Water Auction

December 1, 2013 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

Two facts determine water realities in California: (1) The state is out of water, and (2) In order to develop more than 499 units, builders must declare a long-term source of water. Fact number two is the driving force in what has become a bidding war for the “available” water in a state that every year promises more water than it can deliver. Since 2001, developers must declare a long-term […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Kern County farmland, San Joaquin Valley aquifer, Water in the San Joaquin Valley

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Off The Wire

Grim 2022 Drought Outlook for Western US Offers Warnings for the Future
Grim 2022 Drought Outlook for Western US Offers Warnings for the Future
As the climate heats up further, increasing atmospheric thirst will continue to intensify drought stress.
www.earthisland.org
Inside LA?s Homeless Industrial Complex
Inside LA’s Homeless Industrial Complex
Just 7 percent of the people in Los Angeles’s Echo Park encampment found permanent housing after it was cleared. Almost half are missing. Seven are dead. That’s not a failure of homelessness policy; it’s an example of the system working exactly as intended.
newrepublic.com
Emails Show Ginni Thomas Lobbied State Lawmakers To Subvert Election
Emails Show Ginni Thomas Lobbied State Lawmakers To Subvert Election
Ginni Thomas, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife and a well-connected right-wing…
talkingpointsmemo.com
America Did Too Good a Job at Saving Canada Geese
America Did Too Good a Job at Saving Canada Geese
Americans almost drove Canada geese to extinction; now they are so numerous, they’re a nuisance. What do we do next?
www.theatlantic.com
Scientists find new and mysterious DDT chemicals accumulating in California condors
Scientists find new and mysterious DDT chemicals accumulating in California condors
Environmental health scientists and toxicologists have identified more than 40 DDT-related compounds accumulating in California condors.
www.latimes.com
California minimum wage to jump faster than expected
California minimum wage to jump faster than expected
High inflation is triggering an increase in the California minimum wage, while a measure to boost it even more appears headed to the ballot.
calmatters.org
The Plot to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open During COVID-19
The Plot to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open During COVID-19
This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative…
talkingpointsmemo.com
'Oil refiners exploited the crisis': Report shows oil refiners are gouging California drivers
‘Oil refiners exploited the crisis’: Report shows oil refiners are gouging California drivers
According to Consumer Watchdog, in the first quarter of 2022, some California refiners earned more than twice as those reported by the same refiners in other regions and as much as five times more than in the first quarter of 2021.
www.ktvu.com
May 2022 Shipping Update: Shipping Delays Resurface around the Globe - Cyclone Shipping
May 2022 Shipping Update: Shipping Delays Resurface around the Globe – Cyclone Shipping
With China’s zero-tolerance policy on COVID-19 in full effect, shipping delays were nearly inevitable. Here’s the update.
cycloneshipping.com
California counted its homeless population, but can it track the money?
California counted its homeless population, but can it track the money?
Volunteers fanned out across the state for the first point-in-time count of California’s homeless population since 2020.
calmatters.org
‘Where do they expect us to go?’ Life at one Bay Area encampment before eviction
‘Where do they expect us to go?’ Life at one Bay Area encampment before eviction
For many unhoused Californians, disabilities make life at a temporary shelter nearly impossible
www.theguardian.com
As Abortion Rights Expand, the U.S. Joins a Handful of Telling Exceptions
As Abortion Rights Expand, the U.S. Joins a Handful of Telling Exceptions
Recent shifts on access to abortion suggest democracy and women’s rights go hand in hand, and that the inverse might be true as well.
www.nytimes.com
No, Republicans Aren?t Better at Managing the Economy Than Democrats
No, Republicans Aren’t Better at Managing the Economy Than Democrats
By virtually every objective measure, Democrats do better. It’s not even close. So why doesn’t America know it?
newrepublic.com

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Modesto, CA 95354

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