The story of California begins with water. Without the mass import of the wet stuff from parts north and east, much of Southern and Central California would be barely inhabitable.
No one tells the story of water in California’s heartland in more detail, or with more tenacity, than Lois Henry. She’s a former Bakersfield Californian columnist who six years ago launched SJVWater.org. Mega-farmers, environmentalists and everyday folk read her site to learn about arcane water district policies, the effect of those policies on farmland and fish and for insights on the political intrigue that powers the San Joaquin Valley.
People in the San Joaquin Valley pay particularly close attention to the topic because it’s crucial to the success of one of the most productive farm belts in the world.
Lois Henry, the founder and editor of San Joaquin Valley Water.Org, is photographed at her home in Bakersfield on Jan. 10, 2024. Henry is a journalist who has become a must-read for people involved in agriculture and water issues in the Central Valley.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Karrigan Bork, a professor of law who heads the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis, said reading Henry is crucial to understand “how much water we’re gonna pull out of the ground and who gets to pull it out. It’s tied to power.” Said Mark Arax, an award-winning author who has written about the state’s most powerful farmers: “Lois is absolutely fierce. She’ll stand up and say what’s really going on.”
With California in the middle of what feels like an extra soggy winter, I got Henry to answer a few water questions via email, with our talk condensed here.
For the first time in 25 years, the state recently declared there were zero areas of abnormal dryness in California. Can users finally worry less?
Ha, ha, ha! You’re funny. No. Water is a constant worry in California. The reservoirs are full right now and we got a lot of rain. But keep your eye on the snowpack. We’re at 36% of average statewide, according to the California Data Exchange Center. That means if we didn’t get another flake of snow between now and April 1, we’d only have, at most, 36% of our average runoff.
What is the biggest water challenge facing the San Joaquin Valley?
Groundwater regulations. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which mandates over-drafted regions be brought into balance by 2040, [requiring sustainable water usage from underground sources], is going from the planning to the implementation phase and that will mean big changes. Because, other than excess water during infrequent flood years, there is no “new” water to help replenish the aquifers.
Farmers will have to stop pumping as much. That means less farming. A lot less. Estimates are that about one million acres throughout the Central Valley will have to come out of agricultural production to meet SGMA goals.
Even if all that acreage were replaced by solar farms — and believe me, valley farmers are grabbing onto solar like a life preserver — it will never employ even a fraction of the people who currently work in [agriculture]. The face of the San Joaquin Valley will be very different in years to come.
Are big farmers calling the shots in most Central Valley water districts?
At most agricultural water districts, I’d say that’s fairly accurate. It depends on how the districts are governed. Some give extra voting power to landowners based on amount of acreage — more acres equal more votes. Some are more egalitarian and give one vote per landowner regardless if they own one or 1,000 acres. And some actually have at-large seats that don’t require land ownership, just district residence. … It’s the [groundwater sustainability] boards now making decisions about who can pump how much and at what cost for their regions.
Have there been any signs that the state or local governments will stand up to big ag?
The State Water Resources Control Board did put two regions in Kings and Tulare counties on “probation” in 2024 because their groundwater plans weren’t up to snuff. That designation gives the state greater oversight over how much can be pumped. But it’s a very long, procedural way from probation to state regulators shutting down farmers’ wells. And the state’s goal under SGMA is for local entities to police their own pumping.
How big is the audience for news about Central Valley water?
It’s hard to gauge our reach, though, because of how content “drifts” through the internet. Our newsletter is emailed to about 6,000 people a week and our website gets about 39,000 visitors a month, not huge in the world of internet news. But you don’t need to be a paid subscriber (though we greatly appreciate everyone who supports our work by paying a subscription!) to read SJV Water’s website or get our newsletter. People receive and share our work widely and through many avenues.
A TSA agent scans an ID as travelers wait in a long security line at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana in May 2025.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
- Travelers who want to board a domestic flight without a Real ID will have to pay $45 to have their identity verified through the Transportation Security Administration’s new security screening program.
- TSA announced the new identification verification program in December, saying it is essential to traveler safety.
- More than 94% of passengers currently use their Real ID or other acceptable form of identification, according to TSA.
- A suspect in the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history was deported to Ecuador, halting his prosecution in the $100-million Brinks truck theft.
- Federal prosecutors say they were unaware of the deportation and still want to prosecute, while the defendant’s attorney asked that the case be dismissed.
- The deportation raises questions about federal agency coordination. Most of the stolen merchandise is still unrecovered, and jewelers question whether deporting the suspect could have been prevented.
Children ride a carousel at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland.
(Michaela Vatcheva/For The Times)
Kathleen said, “1. Labeling containers as recyclable encourages the public to consume unlimited quantities of products without considering alternatives or consequences. It takes 3 liters of water to manufacture a 1-liter plastic bottle, so it’s not just a recycling problem but a water usage problem.
2. CRV “deposit” fees charged at point of purchase are fixed, but just try to find a place that recycles CRV products and refunds the deposit amount. Most places pay by the pound at a fraction of the deposit. Remember collecting empty glass Coke bottles for a nickel apiece when we were kids? What happened to that?
Manufacturers of products sold in recyclable containers should be responsible for collecting those empty containers and dealing with the materials.”
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Karen Eyres, president of Hollywood NOW, attends a reproductive rights news conference at the West Hollywood City Hall on May 3, 2022. A month later, Roe vs. Wade was overturned.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs. Wade that a Texas statute criminalizing abortion in most instances violated a woman’s constitutional right of privacy.
After the ruling was overturned in 2022, The Times shared a story about a California woman whose illegal abortion paved the way for Roe.
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Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
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