Related Story: Westlands Again Is Eyeing San Joaquin River Water. However, during testimony in the states Kings River proceeding, Boswell employee Mark Unruh said the company irrigates nearly year-round, from late October through the summer. And, in a rare break with tradition, theyre doing it in public. Not one acre foot, he insisted. (Vidovich said he. We lose entrepreneurs. He recalled bidding on a construction project while studying for the bar exam. The Gilcrease family has been growing crops in Kings County since the 1880s. In that story, Wyrick commented that a major shortcoming of all the GSAs within the area is a lack of information. The Kings River Water Association, including the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District, where Boswell is the majority landowner, are fighting the plan saying all available water is already being used. When you first meet John Vidovich, everything from his ball cap to his dirty boots tells you hes a farmer. When contacted in December by SJV Water about this new pipeline, Vidovich wouldnt say what type of water it would carry (groundwater? His letter states that if all the groundwater being pumped out of the Tulare Lake subbasin isnt fully accounted for, that could harm other GSAs in the subbasin. As for making a major water grab in the Central Valley, Page said Vidovich has nothing on the Wonderful or JG Boswell companies, both of which have far larger land holdings than Vidovich. Large water pipeline in Kings County raising questions, concerns About 25,000 acre feet of groundwater. Either way, Judge Chrissakis ordered the pipeline halted until she decides whether it should come under CEQA review at a March 23 hearing. Putting a blockade on the canal banks was not a legitimate use of that easement, he said. Vidovich owns that land, and Semitropic has already paid him $40 million for an easement. The most recent Boswell-Vidovich beef joins at least two other ongoing legal battles over water. Will Pandemic Make or Break the Valley? The difference, according to Vidovich, is Sandridge is letting some of its Kings County lands go fallow, while, he says, Boswell is pumping additional groundwater to continue farming its Kings County acreage. You know so I could say, Well, I didnt pass because I was so busy with this project.. DWR staffers now have two years to decide if the plans come up to snuff or not. Exporting large amounts of water from one farm region to another and aggressively pumping groundwater both negatively affect other landowners. Its a $500 million project, of which Semitropic is hoping to get $250 million from Proposition 1 funding. One of Angiolas main well fields is actually inside the Pixley Irrigation District boundaries where water managers were concerned by the amount of water leaving their district. SunnyGem is the one-stop-shop for your almond needs, packing and shipping California varieties worldwide. Semitropic Water Storage District in Kern County has applied for the flood water which it plans to store on land owned by Vidovich near Kettleman City, between the Blakeley Canal and California Aqueduct. Will this pipeline move water out of Kings County to farmers in Kern County? Ghana Business News - The first place for your business news. But thats become increasingly challenging. It has 61 wells capable of pumping a combined 240 cubic feet per second. Though he also acknowledged that during the drought he sold some to fellow Dudley Ridge landowner Stewart Resnick, who owns the massive Wonderful Company. From our farming company, growing partners, and all of our employees we pay attention to every detail of our almonds, from the orchards to the finished product. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; So, capturing that south fork floodwater would benefit both Kings and Kern county farmers, according to Semitropics Gianquinto.