Taking advantage of recently approved rules, the federal government is quickly following through on President Donald Trump’s promise to quiet environmentalists and “open up the water” to California farmers.
Democratic congressmen from Fresno introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to repair aging canals and water infrastructure in California that’s been damaged by sinking ground levels – called subsidence, caused by groundwater pumping.
“The canals on the eastside and the westside are experiencing dramatic subsidence and therefore their capacity to move water has greatly diminished,” said Rep. Jim Costa during a news conference Monday before the backdrop of the central San Joaquin Valley’s Friant Dam, just outside Fresno.
Fresno tied an almost 70-year-old single-day rainfall record Sunday — while areas north of the city like Merced were hit even harder, according to the National Weather Service.
Sunday’s rainfall in Fresno exactly matched the Dec. 1, 1952, high of .78 inches of rain.
“They tied it to the hundredth,” said Jim Dudley, a NWS meteorologist. “Right on the nose.”
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
