A Tulare County groundwater agency on the hot seat for helping sink the Friant-Kern Canal holds private tours for state regulators
As the date of reckoning for excessive groundwater pumping in Tulare County grows closer, lobbying by water managers and growers has ramped up. The Friant Water Authority, desperate to protect its newly rebuilt – yet still sinking – Friant-Kern Canal, has beseeched the Water Resources Control Board to get involved. Specifically, it has asked board members to look into how the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) has, or has not, curbed over pumping that affects the canal. Meanwhile, the Eastern Tule groundwater agency has been doing a bit of its own lobbying. It recently hosted all five members of the Water Board on three separate tours of the region, including the canal. Because the tours were staggered, there wasn’t a quorum of board members, which meant they weren’t automatically open to the public.
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