4 San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans deemed inadequate

[WB Staff]

Four San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans deemed inadequate

IN SUMMARY

State officials warn some of the state’s most powerful and largest agricultural districts that their plans fail to address how over-pumping could harm local communities’ drinking water supplies.

The state’s water agency today lambasted groundwater plans drafted by some of California’s largest and most powerful agricultural water suppliers in the San Joaquin Valley, indicating that they fail to protect drinking water supplies from over-pumping.

The four large groundwater basins at stake underlie stretches of San Joaquin, Merced, Madera and Fresno counties that are home to nearly 800,000 people and more than a million acres of irrigated agriculture.

FULL STORY: https://calmatters.org/environment/2021 ... inadequate

[mark poulson]

Good for them.

[mark poulson]

Good for them.

[El Jefe]

So what’s this gotta do with fishing? Usually that’s the reason given for the other anti-ag stuff you guys post.

Are you guys just biased against agriculture in general? Heck….more groundwater pumping means less water taken out of the rivers right?

[jiggin4bass]

That too bad now the delta going to suffer even more because there still going to take the water ship and sell it in central and southern ca. Stay tune.

[Whoopbass]

So what’s this gotta do with fishing? Usually that’s the reason given for the other anti-ag stuff you guys post.

Are you guys just biased against agriculture in general? Heck….more groundwater pumping means less water taken out of the rivers right?

Most of the dislike comes from all the almond orchards that have infested the central valley. They are even creeping up into the foothills. Sucking up everything for the all mighty dollar and they will just move on when its depleted or not lucrative anymore.
So you have a small percentage of people that get to suck up 75% of the state's water while doing irreparable damage to the environment. The air is full of dust and the ground is full of pesticides. What's to like about this arrangement???

I watched a documentary a while back about farms down South that are sucking the ground water dry. They interviewed a Farmer and he wanted something done about all the ground pumping. He said he wasn't going to have a farm to leave to his kids at the rate it was going. But since there were no regulations he was having to take all he could before it was gone just like all the other farms were doing. It was dog eat dog.

[gabuelhaj]

"It provides water to more than 1,000 square miles of prime farmland in western Fresno and Kings Counties."

Aren't these areas desert? Certainly not "prime farmland"...

Let's put the bullet train there, urbanize Fresno and Kings county due to cheap cost of living and housing, and save the Delta!

Good luck!

[WRB]

Everyone in California should applaud this decision. Think of the San Joaquin valley aquifer as a giant underground lake that goes from Bakersfield to Stockton between the High Sierra mountains and coastal mountains over 200 miles long and 50 miles wide. This “lake” has been in drought conditions for a 100 years while wells are pumping it dry. The “lake” water pressure holds off sea water from entering the fresh water basin. Lowering the basin another 100’ would be catastrophic with salt water replacing fresh water.
Tom