Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
State Ups Enforcement to Prevent Ag Water Diversions After Emergency Action
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
August 4, 2021

Share

Farmers will have to stop taking water out of Valley rivers and streams because of the severe drought that is threatening drinking water supply, California regulators said Tuesday.

The Water Resources Control Board approved an emergency resolution empowering regulators to halt diversions from the state’s two largest river systems. The order could apply to roughly 86% of landowners who have legal rights to divert water from the San Joaquin and Sacramento river watersheds. The remaining 14% could be impacted if things get worse.

The rule won’t take effect for another two weeks and it includes exceptions for some uses, such as water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, sanitation and generating electricity. Without the order, officials warned much of the state’s drinking water supply would be at risk if the drought continues into next year.

“This decision is not about prioritizing one group over the other, but about preserving the watershed for all,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the Water Resources of the Control Board.

Vote Affects Sacramento and San Joaquin River Systems

The vote came one day after regulators halted water diversions from another Northern California river system, the Upper Russian River, warning Lake Mendocino would be empty by the end of the year, “putting both people and wildlife in harm’s way.”

Tuesday’s vote is significant because it applies to the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems, which together drain 40% of California’s land and account for at least a portion of the water supply for two-thirds of the state’s nearly 40 million residents.

Known as the California Delta, the river systems get their water mostly from snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The past two years have been the second driest on record. The soil was so dry that it absorbed much of the snowmelt that was supposed to flow into the state’s rivers. This year, California lost so much water this way that it would be enough to fill nearly all of Folsom Lake.

Extreme conditions like these are often from a combination of unusual random, short-term and natural weather patterns heightened by long-term, human-caused climate change. Climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years, increasing risks for drought and wildfires.

Newsom Declares Emergency Declaration to Cut Water Use

The board’s action is possible because Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency declaration earlier this year giving them permission. Newsom, who is facing a recall election next month, has asked residents and businesses to voluntarily cut their water use by 15%.

Newsom’s administration has also relaxed rules about how much water must be available in rivers and streams for environmental purposes. And they’ve built a stone wall in the West False River to prevent saltwater from the Pacific Ocean from creeping into the freshwater rivers and contaminating the water supply.

But even with those actions, demand for water from the San Joaquin River watershed is about 16 times the available supply while demand for the Sacramento River watershed is about three times the supply, according to Lisa Hong, an engineer for the Water Resources Control Board.

“The fact remains that water supplies are extremely limited across the state and we are running out of options,” said Ernest Conant, regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. He told board members on Tuesday he supports the new rule.

Farmers ‘Discouraged’ and ‘Dismayed’

The rule gives state regulators authority to enforce it, including fines for noncompliance. The state is hiring 15 people to help with enforcement, according to Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for the division of water rights.

Ekdahl said the state would mostly respond to complaints about people breaking the rules. He said the state usually gets about 50 complaints per year. But during the drought, that has increased to about five per day.

Farmers are “discouraged” and “dismayed,” said Chris Scheuring, senior counsel for the California Farm Bureau.

“In general, farmers understand drought and they understand lean rain years. That’s the business we’re in,” he said. “But they don’t understand the downward slide in water reliability we are facing in California, sort of on a systemic level.”

California’s complex water rights system will govern who is impacted the most. In general, people who have held water rights the longest will be impacted the least.

The Westlands Water District, one of the largest agricultural water districts in the country, supports the new rule because they say it will stop people from illegally taking water from rivers and streams. But the San Joaquin Tributaries Authority opposes the rule, saying it is “overly broad” and asks water users to trust the government to manage their systems.

“I think there is a fundamental issue with trust,” said Valerie Kincaid, an attorney for the San Joaquin Tributaries Authority.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

UP NEXT

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

UP NEXT

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

UP NEXT

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

UP NEXT

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

UP NEXT

Buying a Home With Solar? Beware of CA Bill Written by Former Utility Co. Exec

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles Over Immigration Enforcement

Trump Administration Acknowledges Lack of Evidence From Epstein Documents

1 hour ago

Dollar rises after Trump announces Japan, South Korea tariffs

1 hour ago

Merced Man Gets More Than 15 Years for Meth Trafficking, High-Speed Chase

2 hours ago

Man Dead After Firing at US Border Patrol Station in Texas

3 hours ago

Tulare County Flume Fire Burns 65 Acres in Sequoia National Forest, Evacuation Order Issued

3 hours ago

Fresno County Fish Fire Burns 15 Acres Near Avocado Lake, 50% Contained

4 hours ago

Wanted Fugitive Found Hiding in Attic Arrested in Chowchilla

4 hours ago

Trump Says US Will Impose 25% Tariffs on Japan, South Korea

5 hours ago

Wall Street Knocked Lower by Tariff Jitters, Musk’s Political Plan Hurts Tesla

5 hours ago

Trial Over Free Speech on Campus, and Trump’s Student Crackdown, Begins

5 hours ago

July 4 Weekend Was No Picnic for Fresno-Area Firefighters. How Bad Did It Get?

How busy were Fresno-area fire departments on July 4 weekend? Some local departments that GV Wire spoke with were still compiling numbers, b...

29 minutes ago

29 minutes ago

July 4 Weekend Was No Picnic for Fresno-Area Firefighters. How Bad Did It Get?

Tulare County fire investigators seized about 300 pounds of illegal fireworks and issued multiple citations during a Fourth of July enforcement operation with the sheriff’s office. (Tulare County SO)
29 minutes ago

Tulare County Seizes 300 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks Over Fourth of July

Model of natural gas pipeline and U.S. flag, July 18, 2022. (Reuters File)
53 minutes ago

US Proposes Rules That Could Boost Oil, Gas Output in US West

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the White House in Washington, June 27, 2025. For months, Bondi promised the release of documents on the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that could reveal damaging details, drumming up anticipation over the files, long a source of speculation and conspiracy theories — but on Monday, July 7, a memo by the Justice Department undercut her own statements. (Pete Marovich/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

Trump Administration Acknowledges Lack of Evidence From Epstein Documents

U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken May 4, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Dollar rises after Trump announces Japan, South Korea tariffs

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Merced Man Gets More Than 15 Years for Meth Trafficking, High-Speed Chase

Photo of caution tape
3 hours ago

Man Dead After Firing at US Border Patrol Station in Texas

The Flume Fire in Sequoia National Forest has burned 65 acres near Highway 190 with no containment as of Monday, July 7, 2025, prompting evacuations in Tulare County. (CalFire)
3 hours ago

Tulare County Flume Fire Burns 65 Acres in Sequoia National Forest, Evacuation Order Issued

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend