Category: What You Need to Know About Water

As the Executive Director of the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, I want to provide an update on recent developments concerning our region’s Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) and our efforts to...

In California, our weather patterns can quickly shift from one extreme to another.  Just look at the last 10 years.  We’ve had five dry years—2014, 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022—where the state and federal water supply...

The Central Valley and the western United States continue to face a significant drought, and we can expect more dry years in the future. It is critical that we come together to find solutions to this problem. At the same time,...

Just as the Central Valley Project allowed for the distribution of water throughout the region and led to the development of the Central Valley, today we need new public investments in water storage facilities, distribution...

Regional water supply projects are being developed south-of-Delta and on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley which would greatly benefit  local farms, communities and wildlife. Two of these projects that will greatly...

In our previous articles, we have described how the water supplies of our local communities depend on agricultural industry. The Exchange Contractors member agencies border Mendota, Firebaugh, Dos Palos, Los Banos, Gustine and...

The story of the Dos Palos water supply begins with the development of water rights and agriculture by Miller and Lux in the late 1800’s. In about 1890, Bernhard Marks worked a deal with Miller and Lux to attract approximately...

In my previous articles, I explained how the Exchange Contractors traced its history back to the beginning of the development of the Central Valley and how this history can be seen locally through their longstanding...

The San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority (Exchange Contractors) is a Joint Powers Authority formed in 1992 by its member agencies—the Central California Irrigation District, San Luis Canal Company, Firebaugh...

Water development on the west side, starting in the 1870’s, was essential to the creation of the agriculture industry in the Central Valley. It was the beginning of what has come to be the most important agricultural region in...