transferred or sold large chunks of its surface water, Too little or too much, theres always controversy brewing over Kern River water, Kern River water heads north through flood channel but wont hit Tulare Lake yet, Kaweah River water managers prepare for more high water as the valley heats up, Vibration in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows. Vidovich, meanwhile, is accusing Boswell-backed groundwater agencies of dragging their feet on pumping reductions to the point their actions could sink the small, rural town of Corcoran up to another 11 feet. The Kings is as erratic a river as the Kern so floodwaters are unpredictable. Boswell Company and Sandridge Partners. You know so I could say, Well, I didnt pass because I was so busy with this project.. A trial date has been set for December 2022. Angiola also doesnt own any water. But farmers Jack Mitchell and Milt Pace are upfront about their distaste for Vidovich and especially Hurley. Vidovich participates on several local water boards, even serving as chair on one. Two giant Central Valley farming companies are slinging serious mud at one another over groundwater. EDMUND JOHN VIDOVICH Lake Havasu City, Arizona Trinitas Partners LLC Investment Management . Understanding water, water rights and the often complex structures of water districts has become a Vidovich hallmark. Construction on a controversial water pipeline in Kings County has, once again, halted. Sandridge Partners, controlled by Silicon Valley developer John Vidovich, is a relative newcomer to the region, making large land acquisitions in the last three decades. The giant J.G. The giant JG Boswell Company has little love for Sandridge Partners. The fight has spilled out in public comments on the Tulare Lake Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan, which covers most of Kings County. Though Vidovich didnt feel state water movement would substantially impact Kings County farming, he still predicted farming will shrink there. Theres a mythology out there that Angiola is stealing water, he said. This case was filed in Kern County Superior Courts, Kern County Metropolitan Division located in Kern, California. Boswell Company, and Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich, filed a blizzard of court actions alleging the other was trespassing and seeking injunctions to . Where is the water going? - Center for Collaborative Investigative Anything that has water on it, youre going to contend with big money. That includes land with river rights, state water contracts or even just groundwater. 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. Previously, Ben spent three years working with Boston Consulting Group as a Senior Associate in London and Melbourne. So, capturing that south fork floodwater would benefit both Kings and Kern county farmers, according to Semitropics Gianquinto. He came on board full-time in 2011, give or take, he said. Number three, water from Angiola cant physically get to Semitropics proposed storage cells. Your email address will not be published. Ultimately, he said, even if Boswell and Sandridge did move all their state water out of Kings County, its a fairly minor loss to the county. In that story, Wyrick commented that a major shortcoming of all the GSAs within the area is a lack of information. Farmers in the heart of Californias agricultural belt Kings County sense something is awry with their water supplies. . A skill his detractors say hes used to maneuver water away from its rightful place to his own benefit. The Water Board began holding hearings on the issue this past summer. He was semi-retired living in Clovis when another Kings County farmer, Pat McCarthy not Vidovich called him to do some work for Angiola. In one battle, the Kings River Water Association, where Boswell is a major rights holder, is suing Tulare Lake Reclamation District 761 and Sandridge Partners, run by Vidovich, for shipping its Kings River water to lands it owns in western Kings County. Home | Sunridge Partners Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It got to a point where the only way we could get an approval was to go to the voters, he told the Silicon Valley Business Journal hours after filing the initiative paperwork in April 2016. At face value, the Tulare Lake Canal Company is simply making sure a construction project doesnt harm its current or future operations. Like its neighbors, Kings is intensively farmed. nor its destination. Their concern is where Vidovich is taking the groundwater. No way, according to Vidovich and his longtime associates. Partnership Credit Card accounts: John Lewis plc is a credit broker and not a lender, introducing the Partnership Credit Card under exclusive arrangements with the lender NewDay Ltd. Left, a cracked, ripened walnut skin at Steve Walker Farms in Hanford, California. Every step would require environmental oversight, permitting and public hearings. John Vidovich - President for De Anza Building & Maintenance Kings County approved 1,238 new agricultural well permits between the start of the last drought in 2012 and 2021, according to county records. Sandridge Partners, controlled by Vidovich, is building a 10-mile-long route on its properties to ship water from its wells in the north to its thirsty fields in the south. True, Angiolas canal stops about 23 miles southeast of the project. From ending poverty and hunger to climate change and sustaining our natural resources, food and agriculture lies at the very heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Vidovich has said he only moves local groundwater to other lands he farms in Kings County. As the processing and sales branch of the organization, SunnyGem almonds are sorted, processed and sold to the wholesale ingredient industry. Whether those pipes end on Vidovich lands or Resnicks is hard to know. . 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. According to legal briefs filed by Tulare Lake, all the floodwater that can be put to beneficial use has been, and theres no leftover water available for Semitropic. He said he bought his first parcel here in 1994 when he invested in a foreclosed property in Kings County. Floodwater is considered a nuisance, a menace even. Nor for the man who runs it, John Vidovich, nor for his current pipeline project that will move water from various places in Kings County to various other undisclosed locations. This is what businesses do, he said. Related Story: Westlands Again Is Eyeing San Joaquin River Water. Avila says corporations are gobbling up the land to plant more permanent crops and draining the countys water in the process. And thats the deeper current here. Kings County Can Prosecute Woman in Fetus Death Case Over Becerra Objection, Proposed Agreement Could Boost Funds To Fix Friant-Kern Canal. But the letter continued to intrigue Chrissakis. SGMA refers to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act passed in 2014 that mandates water basins be in balance by 2040. Its really, really not cool, Vidovich said. And the company maintains positions on just about every ag and water related board and commission in Kings, giving it considerable political heft. The purpose of the pipeline is irrelevant, said Sandridge Attorney Marshall Whitney. His strategy has always been to use about 30% of his land for farming and 70% for its water. Exporting large amounts of water from one farm region to another and aggressively pumping groundwater both negatively affect other landowners. My business approach right now is to acquire as much water as I can to be diversified in water. Designed with by Trinity Mobile Apps, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), From bulldozers to helicopters, Boswell-Vidovich battles continue, Jan. 17 letter to Tulare Lake Canal Company, Too little or too much, theres always controversy brewing over Kern River water, Kern River water heads north through flood channel but wont hit Tulare Lake yet, Kaweah River water managers prepare for more high water as the valley heats up, Vibration in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows. By comparison, its closest neighbors, Kern, Fresno and Tulare sit at 8,000, 6,000 and 4,800 square miles, respectively. 2023 www.visaliatimesdelta.com. Local Controversial Kings Co. water pipeline faces familiar foe in legal John Lewis & Partners | Department Store | Home, Fashion, Tech & More Home | DMCA | SJV Content Use | Contact, Copyright 2022 SJV Water. Number one, the settlement agreement between Angiola and Lower Tule/Pixley irrigation districts wont allow Angiola or Sandridge to move the water out of Kings County. The difference, Vidovich has charged, is that Boswell continues to farm using groundwater. Both GSAs, along with three others in the Tulare Lake subbasin, submitted a single joint groundwater plan. Boswell has also been moving water out of Kings. 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. They argued that McCarthy Farms breached a contract when they sold the land and water rights to Vidovich and Sandridge Partners, which included members of Vidovichs family. Under his leadership, Buena Vista has installed a pipeline system to reduce reliance on canals, which lose a lot of water to seepage and the district has become extremely active in buying up land for water banking. Copyright 2023 SunnyGem. No, he said. Boswell has employed generations of Kings County families, mostly in the small town of Corcoran where a high school stadium and park bear the Boswell name. Indeed, as president of the board, Vidovich has a great deal of influence in directing much of the water districts business. To do that, the state requires each area to form Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) to account for whats going in and coming out of the aquifer. Farming runs deep in the blood of growers like Jeff and Karen Gilcrease. environmental, ethical and socially responsible principles and work with you to achieve the best possible outcomes for all stakeholders during the whole lifetime of our ownership, Promoting food and agribusiness products and systems that contribute to improved health and well-being, We have also made a commitment to meaningfully contribute to and find solutions in our investments to the SDGs. Fight over Kings County pipeline just the latest clash between water Lukas works across all aspects of the firm from business development to portfolio company operations. Except when you plug John Vidovichs name into the equation. If so, it would mean the pipeline would have to undergo a full blown environmental impact report, including multiple public hearings.