Vidovich is gobbling up all the parcels he can so he can keep on pumping, Mitchell said. It was a permanent water loss for Kings County and put Vidovich under a lingering cloud of suspicion among area farmers and water managers. That leaves smaller farmers with mostly groundwater, which Walker said has dropped 100 feet to 120 feet just this year. Boswell has also transferred or sold large chunks of its surface water, both state and Kings River supplies out of the county, over the years. Judge: Kings Co. water pipeline blockade can continue Boswell Company and Sandridge Partners, owned by John Vidovich. The project would consist of a small reservoir, more like short-term storage cells, along the California Aqueduct just north of Kettleman City where floodwater off the south fork of the Kings River would be captured. Local Education But water pipelines arent permitted or monitored by Kings County, according to the county Public Works Director, so its impossible to know if they stop at the county line. A 2020 groundwater sustainability report shows that over the previous five years, agriculture in Kings County relied on an average of about 319,000 acre feet from local rivers and streams, 475,000 acre feet from groundwater and just 37,000 acre feet of state water. Sandridge Partners plans new beef processing plant | John Lindt Your email address will not be published. Levees were built in 1983 to protect Corcoran from Kings River floodwater. Vidovich dismissed the Boswell letter as throwing rocks to distract from the larger issue over-pumping. And that may be true. Indeed, as president of the board, Vidovich has a great deal of influence in directing much of the water districts business. Though the Gilcreases expanded to 700 acres at one point, they had to sell off part of their land because they didnt have the water to keep farming it. As the processing and sales branch of the organization, SunnyGem almonds are sorted, processed and sold to the wholesale ingredient industry. The GSAs are supposed to set pumping limits to stop overdraft. A strong, diverse farming sector is vital to the local economy and food security and it requires water. Vidovich would also get a cut of the floodwater and be allowed to use the facilities to move some groundwater, per the project contract. Mavens Notebook is an excellent daily accounting of California water happenings statewide. But a pipeline, which Vidovich is allowed to build under the Semitropic agreement, could span that distance. Whether the water is leaving Kings County for cash payments or to grow crops that will eventually be sold for profit, its all the same thing, said economist David Zetland, who lectures on the politics and economics of water at Leiden University College in the Netherlands. The giant J.G. Putting a blockade on the canal banks was not a legitimate use of that easement, he said. This is what businesses do, he said. The. Sunridge Partners (UK), LLP acts as the investment advisor for the Sunridge funds that invest in agribusinesses globally. Once a river is at flood stage, that usually means all other rights have been filled and the overflow is free game. Ag Giants Boswell, Vidovich Sling Mud at Each Other, Tulare Man Convicted on 20 Counts of Molesting Two Girls and a Boy, Big Raises for SCCCD Part-Time Faculty 'A Really Good First Step, But Just The First Step', Bud Light Sales Fall 26% as Transgender Backlash Worsens, Speaker Kevin McCarthy Blasts Russia Over 'Killing of the Children' in Ukraine, Its Farmers vs. Site development by. Many Kings County farmers, who have watched water leaving their region, wonder if its being sold to Los Angeles. Semitropic has paid him $40 million for an easement and Vidovich would also get a cut of the flood water and be allowed to use the facilities to move groundwater, per the project contract. We listen to our customers, understand their needs and are never satisfied until they are. The Kings River Water Association, including the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District, where Boswell is the majority landowner, are fighting the plan tooth and nail. Zakaria: These Revolutions May Help India Really Take off at Last, Future of California at Risk if CEQA Environmental Law Remains Unchanged, NBA Playoffs: Star-Studded Round 2 Has Big Names, Intense Rivalries. Ben holds a BComm in Economics and Finance with first class honours (Deans list) from the University of Melbourne and a BCompSc in Computer Science with first class honours from Monash University. He certainly looks the part in his well-worn jeans and checkered shirts. Both GSAs, along with three others in the Tulare Lake subbasin, submitted a single joint groundwater plan. Thats true of the entire San Joaquin Valley, where he said farmings footprint is retracting because of pumping restrictions looming under the states new groundwater law. Bigger landowners hold contracts for most of the state water brought to Kings from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and they own large portions of the private ditch companies that divvy up the Kings River water and ferry it to farms. So, if i cant make money on that water farming, I will sell it eventually to an urban area and thats a right I have. Related Story: Its Farmers vs. Observers worry that Vidovich plans to pump Kings and Tulare counties dry, park that water in Kern County and then sell it to the highest bidder in dry years, leaving a once-thriving farm district barren. Independent farmers are selling out, said Kings County farmer Robert Smith, who grows walnuts, almonds, corn and cotton on about 1,000 acres. Regardless of Thursdays ruling, onlookers can expect it wont be the end of this issue. Sandridge filed a restraining order to have the excavators, bulldozers and trucks removed, but Kings County Superior Court Is John Vidovich Planning to Sell Off the Valley's Lifeblood? Trenching for the pipeline was slated to cut under the Tulare Lake Canal in late January but the canal company, which is controlled by Boswell, made several demands. And in 2017, the levees had to be raised another two feet at a cost of $14 million to residents, according to the letter. The State Water Project rarely delivers full allocations and, in fact, only delivered 5% of contracted water during this past drought year. Now, Pace said, Vidovich will do the same thing on a larger scale by moving Kings and Tulare groundwater to Kern County. Im all for moving water around, he said. While he was just starting out, he also enlisted in the Navy and served in the reserves for six or eight years, he cant recall the exact term. Exporting large amounts of water from one farm region to another and aggressively pumping groundwater both negatively affect other landowners. Not one acre foot, he insisted. Quay Valley, California - Wikipedia A Farmer's Quest to Beat California's Waves of Drought and Deluge He specialised in product and growth strategy projects within the consumer and food space. In 2017, he made news again for his part in a plan to take Kings River flood water out of the county an effort thats still ongoing. The association contends that even though those lands are in the county, they are beyond whats considered the rivers service area. And river water cannot be taken outside that service area, according to the lawsuit. . Two giant Central Valley farming companies are slinging serious mud at one another over groundwater. Vidovich made an offer on the land and Page took it. Trucks and heavy equipment emblazoned with the distinctive diamond B logo parked on the banks of the Tulare Lake Canal late last month werent sending a subtle message. Michael holds a BSE in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MSc with Distinction in Shipping, Trade, and Finance from Cass Business School. In 2013, the Lower Tule River and Pixley irrigation districts sued Angiola Water District, whose largest landowner is Vidovich, for over pumping groundwater from a well field in Tulare County and moving it outside the county. The data show thats already happening. Some farmers cant afford to do either, making the difficult decision to get out of agriculture all together. The Kings is as erratic a river as the Kern so floodwaters are unpredictable. News, Politics When asked about the pipeline Wyrick mentions in his June 2020 letter, Vidovich says only floodwater from the Kings River may have been shipped out of the county.
john vidovich sandridge partners
john vidovich sandridge partners