A last-resort attempt to shore up funding for ongoing Friant-Kern Canal repairs has run into a buzzsaw of opposition from several irrigation districts that were stuck with the bill – up to $295 million. A letter disputing the fees accuses the Friant Water Authority, which operates the canal, of, among other things, extortion. … The Friant Water Authority is about $90 million shy of the $326 million already spent to rebuild a section of the sinking canal and needs to show the Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the canal, how it will pay for another $250 million in still-needed repairs. The problem, according to Friant, is that the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency hasn’t paid what Friant says it owes as part of a settlement agreement reached in 2021. While some farmers in Eastern Tule get surface water from water districts, most rely exclusively on groundwater and have been blamed for the over pumping that sank the Friant-Kern Canal along a 33-mile stretch.

Other Friant Water Authority article:

• The Porterville Recorder: FWA releases draft EIR for pump-back project