San Joaquin Valley Archives

Depleted California Reservoirs Threaten Hydro Power, Agriculture, Drinking Water

August 16, 2021 1:15 pmAugust 18, 2021 10:29 am

In 2014, California voters approved $7.12 billion in bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects. Of that, $2.7 billion was designated for water storage projects. But nearly 8 years later, there are no new dams or reservoirs, or other water...

Newsom Administration Wasted So Much Water, Oroville Just Ran Out

August 6, 2021 7:57 amAugust 6, 2021 7:59 am

Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), and Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Marysville) met this week at the top of the Oroville Dam to decry Governor Gavin Newsom’s “lack of leadership and gross mismanagement of the state’s water, power and...

Why is a Wisconsin Prof Using Beijing Research to Push Water Snitching in California?

July 12, 2021 2:55 amJuly 13, 2021 6:21 am

Residents of Sacramento seemed to be particularly enthusiastic about snitching on water wasters, according to a recent study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Sacramento Bee published an article last week encouraging Sacramento residents to rat-out neighbors for “wasting” water...

Blaming Almonds for California’s Water Shortage is Just Nuts

June 21, 2021 8:11 amJune 24, 2021 6:38 am

“California can learn much from Israel on how to conserve water, manage drought better,” an op ed in Sunday’s Sacramento Bee said. At first blush, yes, California can learn a great deal about water management from the Israelis. They turned...

California Drought Response: Water Board Cuts Off Water to Thousands of Farms

June 17, 2021 7:01 amJune 17, 2021 7:01 am

The California State Water Resources Control Board announced that thousands of farmers in the Central Valley up to the Oregon Border will have their water curtailed until winter, the Globe reported Wednesday. The order “targets 4,300 ‘junior’ water rights holders...

Why Do Californians Have to Choose Between Food, Agriculture, and Fish?

May 6, 2021 8:34 amMay 7, 2021 3:46 pm

The long time political dispute between California farmers and state and federal water regulators predates the latest drought and will continue long after, unless some political honesty takes place. Most of the media and public officials paint California farmers and...

California House Republicans Urge Natural Resources Committee Action on California Drought

April 28, 2021 3:59 pm

Last week, while standing in a dried out bed on Lake Mendocino, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency… but not for the entire state of California as expected. Newsom only declared a drought emergency for two Northern California counties...