The Big Oak Flat Road in Yosemite National Park (Hwy 120) is currently closed from Crane Flat to Foresta due to a rockfall. On Sunday morning, February 5, 2017, debris and several boulders fell into the road. There is no access to Yosemite Valley via The Big Oak Flat Road. …
Read More »The new state law that could end Tooleville’s fight for clean water
For more than two decades the small Tulare County community of Tooleville has been without a secure supply of safe drinking water. The simplest solution would be to connect the town’s water system to that of its neighbor, the City of Exeter. It would take less than a mile of …
Read More »What to expect as state water officials weigh in on local groundwater sustainability plans
In 2014, California’s state legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), a sweeping law with the goal of balancing the amount of water pumped out of underground aquifers with the amount returned through recharge. How that balancing act would actually work was left up to hundreds of locally governed …
Read More »Fresno County farmers at a ‘crossroads’ as drought, climate change limit water supply
Joe Del Bosque has owned his farm west of Mendota for 36 years. He’s grown cherries, tomatoes and asparagus. But the crop closest to his heart is melons. His dad began growing melons in the Mendota area in the 1950s. “They’ve been in my blood for all my life, you …
Read More »State Senator Melissa Hurtado On Drought And Repairing California’s Water Infrastructure
When the one working well serving the unincorporated community of Teviston in Tulare County stopped working last month, the roughly 1,000 people who live there were left without running water in the middle of a drought. As the community waits for bureaucracy to clear the way for the well to …
Read More »Report: Groundwater Overhaul Could Threaten Drinking Water Of More Than A Million Valley Residents
As drought settles over the San Joaquin Valley, a new report warns of other circumstances that could result in entire communities losing drinking water. More than a million Valley residents could lose their public water in coming decades under the sweeping groundwater legislation known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act …
Read More »In Letter To Congress, Water Agencies Call For Drinking Water Relief Funding
In March, the COVID-19 relief bill known as the CARES Act set aside $ 900 million to help Americans pay their utility bills. Earlier this week, a broad coalition of water agencies delivered a letter to Congress advocating for more funding. The letter, submitted Monday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, …
Read More »Community Advocates Say Water Shutoff Order Is Good, But Not Enough
On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom placed an executive order restricting water shutoffs retroactively from March 4th. That’s good news, community advocates say, but it doesn’t help those whose water was already shut off. Jonathan Nelson is the Policy Director for the Community Water Center. He says Newsom’s order will help …
Read More »Congressional Candidates Jim Costa and Esmeralda Soria Talk Homelessness, Water And TV Ads
As the race to represent the 16th congressional district heats up between incumbent Jim Costa and fellow democrat Esmeralda Soria, both candidates stopped by the KVPR studio to talk with FM89’s Kathleen Schock about the key issues facing the district, and the attention grabbing television ads from the Costa campaign. …
Read More »Congressional Candidates TJ Cox and David Valadao Talk Health Care, Water and Energy
David Valadao is fighting to win back the congressional seat he narrowly lost to Congressman TJ Cox in 2018. FM89’s Kathleen Schock spoke with both candidates about some of the key issues facing the district. https://www.kvpr.org/sites/kvpr/files/styles/big_story/public/202002/Cox-Valadao.jpg
Read More »President Trump Signs New Water Rules At Bakersfield Rally
President Donald Trump was in Bakersfield for a short visit Wednesday to sign a Presidential Memorandum to commit more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers. He spoke to an invitation-only crowd of about 2,000 people. The event at Meadows Field Airport drew high schoolers wearing Future Farmers of America jackets, …
Read More »New Film Documents the Fight for Clean Water in Tooleville
Contaminated water has flown from faucets in Tooleville, a small community in Tulare County, since the 1980s. “The Great Water Divide: California’s Water Crisis” is a new documentary that follows the residents’ efforts to connect to neighboring Exeter’s water supply. FM89’s Kathleen Schock spoke to the filmmaker, Casey Beck, and …
Read More »Who Runs Your Water System? UC Davis Research Shows Why Water Governance Matters
Roughly a million Californians lack access to safe drinking water. And while a scarcity of money or local leadership can stand in the way of fixes, so too can California’s byzantine water management system. A new article on UC Davis’s California Water Blog shines a light on just how complicated …
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