{"id":145077,"date":"2026-01-22T19:24:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/145077\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T19:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:24:18","slug":"a-tenacious-journalist-tells-the-story-of-central-valley-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/145077\/","title":{"rendered":"A tenacious journalist tells the story of Central Valley water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The story of California begins with water. Without the mass import of the wet stuff from parts north and east, much of Southern and Central California would be barely inhabitable.<\/p>\n

No one tells the story of water in California\u2019s heartland in more detail, or with more tenacity, than Lois Henry. She\u2019s a former Bakersfield Californian columnist who six years ago launched SJVWater.org<\/a>. Mega-farmers, environmentalists and everyday folk read her site to learn about arcane water district policies, the effect of those policies on farmland and fish and for insights on the political intrigue that powers the San Joaquin Valley.<\/p>\n

You’re reading the Essential California newsletter <\/p>\n

People in the San Joaquin Valley pay particularly close attention to the topic because it\u2019s crucial to the success of one of the most productive farm belts in the world.<\/p>\n

\"Lois <\/p>\n

Lois Henry, the founder and editor of San Joaquin Valley Water.Org, is photographed at her home in Bakersfield on Jan. 10, 2024. Henry is a journalist who has become a must-read for people involved in agriculture and water issues in the Central Valley.<\/p>\n

(Mel Melcon \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Karrigan Bork, a professor of law who heads the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis, said reading Henry is crucial to understand \u201chow much water we\u2019re gonna pull out of the ground and who gets to pull it out. It\u2019s tied to power.\u201d Said Mark Arax, an award-winning author who has written about the state\u2019s most powerful farmers: \u201cLois is absolutely fierce. She\u2019ll stand up and say what\u2019s really going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

With California in the middle of what feels like an extra soggy winter, I got Henry to answer a few water questions via email, with our talk condensed here. <\/p>\n

For the first time in 25 years, the state recently declared there were zero areas of abnormal dryness in California. Can users finally worry less?<\/p>\n

Ha, ha, ha! You\u2019re funny. No. Water is a constant worry in California. The reservoirs are full right now and we got a lot of rain. But keep your eye on the snowpack. We\u2019re at 36% of average statewide, according to the California Data Exchange Center. That means if we didn\u2019t get another flake of snow between now and April 1, we\u2019d only have, at most, 36% of our average runoff.<\/p>\n

What is the biggest water challenge facing the San Joaquin Valley?<\/p>\n

Groundwater regulations. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA),<\/a> which mandates over-drafted regions be brought into balance by 2040, [requiring sustainable water usage from underground sources], is going from the planning to the implementation phase and that will mean big changes. Because, other than excess water during infrequent flood years, there is no \u201cnew\u201d water to help replenish the aquifers.<\/p>\n

Farmers will have to stop pumping as much. That means less farming. A lot less. Estimates are that about one million acres throughout the Central Valley will have to come out of agricultural production to meet SGMA goals.<\/p>\n

Even if all that acreage were replaced by solar farms \u2014 and believe me, valley farmers are grabbing onto solar like a life preserver \u2014 it will never employ even a fraction of the people who currently work in [agriculture]. The face of the San Joaquin Valley will be very different in years to come.<\/p>\n

Are big farmers calling the shots in most Central Valley water districts?<\/p>\n

At most agricultural water districts, I\u2019d say that\u2019s fairly accurate. It depends on how the districts are governed. Some give extra voting power to landowners based on amount of acreage \u2014 more acres equal more votes. Some are more egalitarian and give one vote per landowner regardless if they own one or 1,000 acres. And some actually have at-large seats that don\u2019t require land ownership, just district residence. \u2026 It\u2019s the [groundwater sustainability] boards now making decisions about who can pump how much and at what cost for their regions.<\/p>\n

Have there been any signs that the state or local governments will stand up to big ag?<\/p>\n

The State Water Resources Control Board did put two regions in Kings and Tulare counties on \u201cprobation\u201d in 2024 because their groundwater plans weren\u2019t up to snuff. That designation gives the state greater oversight over how much can be pumped. But it\u2019s a very long, procedural way from probation to state regulators shutting down farmers\u2019 wells. And the state\u2019s goal under SGMA is for local entities to police their own pumping.<\/p>\n

How big is the audience for news about Central Valley water?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to gauge our reach, though, because of how content \u201cdrifts\u201d through the internet. Our newsletter is emailed to about 6,000 people a week and our website gets about 39,000 visitors a month, not huge in the world of internet news. But you don\u2019t need to be a paid subscriber (though we greatly appreciate everyone who supports our work by paying a subscription<\/a>!) to read SJV Water\u2019s website or get our newsletter. People receive and share our work widely and through many avenues.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s top stories \"Passengers <\/a> <\/p>\n

A TSA agent scans an ID as travelers wait in a long security line at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana in May 2025.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll cost you $45 to fly without a Real ID starting in FebruaryTravelers who want to board a domestic flight without a Real ID will have to pay $45 to have their identity verified<\/a> through the Transportation Security Administration\u2019s new security screening program.TSA announced the new identification verification program in December, saying it is essential to traveler safety.More than 94% of passengers currently use their Real ID or other acceptable form of identification, according to TSA.A man charged in the \u2018largest jewelry heist in U.S. history,\u2019 avoids trial by getting deportedA suspect in the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history<\/a> was deported to Ecuador, halting his prosecution in the $100-million Brinks truck theft.Federal prosecutors say they were unaware of the deportation and still want to prosecute, while the defendant\u2019s attorney asked that the case be dismissed.The deportation raises questions about federal agency coordination. Most of the stolen merchandise is still unrecovered, and jewelers question whether deporting the suspect could have been prevented.Oscar nominations 2026What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning\u2019s must readOther must readsFor your downtime \"Children <\/a> <\/p>\n

Children ride a carousel at Children\u2019s Fairyland in Oakland.<\/p>\n

(Michaela Vatcheva\/For The Times)<\/p>\n

Going outStaying inA question for you: What\u2019s your biggest recycling gripe?<\/p>\n

Kathleen said, \u201c1. Labeling containers as recyclable encourages the public to consume unlimited quantities of products without considering alternatives or consequences. It takes 3 liters of water to manufacture a 1-liter plastic bottle, so it\u2019s not just a recycling problem but a water usage problem.<\/p>\n

2. CRV \u201cdeposit\u201d fees charged at point of purchase are fixed, but just try to find a place that recycles CRV products and refunds the deposit amount. Most places pay by the pound at a fraction of the deposit. Remember collecting empty glass Coke bottles for a nickel apiece when we were kids? What happened to that?<\/p>\n

Manufacturers of products sold in recyclable containers should be responsible for collecting those empty containers and dealing with the materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.<\/p>\n

And finally … from our archives \"A <\/p>\n

Karen Eyres, president of Hollywood NOW, attends a reproductive rights news conference at the West Hollywood City Hall on May 3, 2022. A month later, Roe vs. Wade was overturned.<\/p>\n

(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs. Wade that a Texas statute criminalizing abortion in most instances violated a woman\u2019s constitutional right of privacy. <\/p>\n

After the ruling was overturned in 2022, The Times shared a story about a California woman whose illegal abortion paved the way for Roe<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The story of California begins with water. Without the mass import of the wet stuff from parts north…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":{"0":"post-145077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-civic-revolt","12":"tag-covid","13":"tag-covid-19","14":"tag-days","15":"tag-essential-california","16":"tag-israel","17":"tag-l-a","18":"tag-los-angeles-times","19":"tag-may","20":"tag-pandemic","21":"tag-part","22":"tag-president-biden","23":"tag-red-county","24":"tag-san-diego","25":"tag-state","26":"tag-time","27":"tag-years"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}