Kings County Farming Giant John Vidovich Shut Out of Groundwater Board Seat

Water

By SJV Water

Published 3 hours ago on

December 19, 2025

“If I don’t have water, the trees are going to die. My trees will die. This is for my survival,” farming giant John Vidovich said at the Monday, Dec. 15, meeting of the board directors for Empire Westside Irrigation District. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

Kings County farming giant John Vidovich is scrambling to protect his orchards after the vote didn't go his way at a water district.
The Empire Westside Irrigation District board voted 3-2 at a recent meeting to keep Ceil Howe Jr. as their rep on the South Fork Kings GSA rather than switch to Vidovich.
“So, I have the most of the land and it’s just unfair, I think, for me not to have representation,” Vidovich said.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

John Vidovich, who runs Sandridge Partners LLC, one of Kings County’s largest farming operations, was shut out of gaining a seat on a groundwater agency for fear he would move native water outside the area.

Monserrat Solis

SJV Water

Board members of the Empire Westside Irrigation District voted 3-2 at their Monday, Dec. 15, meeting to keep Ceil Howe Jr. as their representative on the South Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency, rather than switch to Vidovich.

That didn’t sit well with Vidovich.

“So, I have the most of the land and it’s just unfair, I think, for me not to have representation,” Vidovich said at Empire’s meeting. “He’s (Howe) got 110 acres. I have what? 4,800?”

Vidovich owns 15,000 acres within South Fork’s boundary, with 4,800 inside the Empire district. South Fork includes four other water districts.

Fellow Empire board member John Hattesen asked what Vidovich’s motivation was for seeking the South Fork seat. Vidovich said he wants to use groundwater as he always has, pumping it out of South Fork GSA and onto land he owns in Southwest Kings GSA.

“If I don’t have water, the trees are going to die,” Vidovich said during Empire’s meeting. “My trees will die. This is for my survival.”

Vidovich Wants to Merge GSAs

Last July, Vidovich floated a proposal for the Southwest Kings GSA – where he controls three of the five board seats – to merge with the South Fork GSA.

Howe said at the Dec. 15 meeting that if South Fork and Southwest merged, Vidovich could take South Fork’s groundwater all the way to Kern County.

“The groundwater is going to go down up here and you’re going to get zero recharge out of it, zero use out of it, zero anything,” Howe warned.

So far, no action has been taken on the merger proposal.

More recently, Sandridge Partners threatened to sue South Fork GSA if it adopts a policy prohibiting movement of native groundwater more than a mile outside its boundaries.

Hattesen responded that his objective is to keep water in the Empire district.

“It’s for my survival too,” Hattesen said. “I live here and I want to continue to live here and I want to continue to be a friend of yours and I want you to be a friend of mine, but I got to look out for this area and district.”

Image of Empire Water District board members meeting in their tight quarters, sitting at a table across from each other in a room with wood panel walls — John Vidovich, hands on face, at the Monday, Dec. 15, meeting of the Empire Westside Irrigation District. Empire director John Hattesen is on the far right and director Ceil Howe Jr. is in on the left in the beige vest. (SJV Water/Monserrat Solis)

Vidovich argued that South Fork’s proposed base pumping allocation of .66 of an acre foot per acre of land would protect the aquifer, if pumpers stayed at .66.

So, why would it matter where he uses that groundwater?

“If Empire limits it to .66 (per South Fork’s proposed policy) and it goes to the Kings or it goes somewhere else. It makes it where there’s no harm at all,” Vidovich said.

Hattesen did not back down.

“My main point is I don’t want to see any of our well water or our district water outside of our district. This is our water.”

In the end, the Empire board voted to keep Howe on the South Fork board with Vidovich continuing to serve as Howe’s alternate.

After the vote, Vidovich continued to speak on the matter.

“I need to talk to you because I think that you’ve got one side of the story,” Vidovich told Hattesen.

Hattesen said he’s listened to both sides and will continue to fight to keep the GSA’s and Empire’s groundwater in the area.

“My grandad lived here. My dad lived here. I farm here and I want it to continue that way. I don’t want you from being up north to come down here and dictate all this,” Hattesen said.

He referred to the fact that Vidovich’s home is in Los Altos Hills in the Silicon Valley, where he operates De Anza Properties, a prominent development firm.