Though Boswell and Vidovich both have access to large shares of water, their relationship over this precious resource is downright antagonistic. 2022 by Sunridge Partners (UK) LLP. The fight has spilled out in public comments on the Tulare Lake Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan, which covers most of Kings County. The punitive damage portion, about $73 million, was overturned on appeal and the case has been sent back to Kings County. Vidovich later made an offer for Page to come work for him as a consultant or, as Page says in his slow drawl, his firemancause I put out fires.. Though he also acknowledged that during the drought he sold some to fellow Dudley Ridge landowner Stewart Resnick, who owns the massive Wonderful Company. The little guy is gone, said Walker, the walnut farmer. Thats partly due to drought but also greater use. There are often laws binding it to a basin. But out in the Buena Vista Water Storage District where Vidovich chairs the board, his original detractors all love him, Page said. (Vidovich said he didn't think Sandridge had hit 100,000 acres, total, yet.) Its happened before, he said, up in Green Valley, which is west of Interstate 5 and a few miles north of the Kern County line. He paid em three times what anyone else wouldve for their land and now theyre all gettin water because of his policies, Page said. Posted on August 6, 2018 Bakersfield Californian. Number two, Angiola is trying to maintain the local aquifer by retiring land to limit pumping. In any event, Vidovich fallowed his Angiola land and took its groundwater about 25 miles west to his Dudley Ridge lands. As the processing and sales branch of the organization, SunnyGem almonds are sorted, processed and sold to the wholesale ingredient industry. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. But its just a cover for taking water out, Pace said. Strafford PUD attorney Ray Carlson said during the hearing that the district had been in very preliminary talks with Sandridge about the future possibility of moving its wastewater through the pipeline. Is John Vidovich Planning to Sell Off the Valley's Lifeblood? We welcome you to contact us to discuss how we might partner to create mutually beneficial opportunities in the agribusiness sector. Less surface water creates a greater need to pump from underground, which lowers the water table for all users. Vidovich is the owner of Sandridge Partners, LP - a farmland investment firm that has undertaken more than 100,000 acres of Valley farmland. And whats the end game of moving that water? Vidovich made an offer on the land and Page took it. But this outwardly unassuming multimillionaire has become a lightning rod of controversy. One of Angiolas main well fields is actually inside the Pixley Irrigation District boundaries where water managers were concerned by the amount of water leaving their district. Founded in 1966, with legacies dating back more than 100 years; our highly trained staff provides value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, and financing services to clients across the . John Lewis & Partners | Department Store | Home, Fashion, Tech & More We have an exceptional and experienced customer service and quality control team that supports our efforts and assist our customers with any questions they may have about our products. Previously, Ben spent three years working with Boston Consulting Group as a Senior Associate in London and Melbourne. . Lukas works across all aspects of the firm from business development to portfolio company operations. Mortgage Fees Increase Today. Boswell has also been moving water out of Kings. The sale is still considered a blow to Kings' water portfolio by other farmers. Your email address will not be published. However, state and water district records indicate the Boswell and Sandridge water is largely staying in the valley. SunnyGem is the one-stop-shop for your almond needs, packing and shipping California varieties worldwide. The judge on Thursday may find in Sandridges favor as she already issued a tentative ruling last week which noted that, The use of the heavy equipment to stop the pipe project is not a protected tactic under the law.. He tried to get the county to pass an ordinance barring the export of native groundwater but said he could not get enough votes. Then there was the nail in the coffin for folks like Pace and Mitchell when Vidovich appeared in a National Geographic film called Water and Power: A California Heist, which ran in mid-March and again on June 25. 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. According to news reports, he owns Sandridge Partners, LP, a farmland investment firm that has accumulated more than 100,000 acres of Valley farmland in recent years. Since 2009, the company has transferred or sold 102,000 acre feet of its surface water out of the county, according to records from DWR, Tulare Lake Basin Storage District and the Kern County water agency. He came on board full-time in 2011, give or take, he said. Though he insists this flood water isnt being used and is, in fact, a nuisance, locals consider it an attempted theft of the Kings River. But, in the last five or 10 years, only corporate guys have been coming in. Absolutely not. 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. Carol provides administrative support to the Team and ensures that the office runs smoothly. Enter your email address to receive INSTANT ALERTS of new articles and to be added to SJV Waters WEEKLY NEWSLETTER. Though he doesnt seek out media attention, when asked about water under his control, he rarely refuses to talk. But a pipeline, which Vidovich is allowed to build under the Semitropic agreement, could span that distance. Because, while he does farm thousands of acres of pistachios, almonds and grapes, many believe the only harvest Vidovich is truly interested in is water. Carol has been working with the Sunridge team since 2014. Sandridge filed a restraining order to have the excavators, bulldozers and trucks removed, but Kings County Superior Court And the company maintains positions on just about every ag and water related board and commission in Kings, giving it considerable political heft. Vidovich used the $73 million in 2010 to buy nearly 75 percent of the land in the Angiola Water District. Attorneys for the Tulare Lake Canal Company, controlled by the giant J.G. California produces 99% of all domestic walnuts. The Kings River Water Association, where Boswell is a major rights holder, is suing Tulare Lake Reclamation District 761, controlled by Vidovich, for shipping its Kings River water to Dudley Ridge. 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. Vidovich says the animus against him goes back to his 2009 sale of State Water Project (SWP) contract rights tied to land he owned in the Dudley Ridge Water District in Kings County. In a letter to the state last summer, Boswells vice president attorney Jeof Wyrick who chairs the El Rico Groundwater Sustainability Agency, accused Vidovich of moving groundwater out of the area via pipeline where it cannot be tracked. As far as Walker knows, no agency, city or county board is trying to figure out whats really happening. The title Baron Sandridge was given to Churchill by James II in 1685, and was his first English peerage title (his earlier title, Baron Eyemouth, had been created in 1682 by James . All right reserved. The district plans to store flood flows on land next to the California Aqueduct, the main artery that moves water from northern to southern California, then pump it south. Sandridge was one of the earlier homes of the great English general, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his infamous wife, Sarah, a favourite of Queen Anne. He certainly looks the part in his well-worn jeans and checkered shirts. After all, Vidovich, water and pipelines have a history in Kings County. Vidovich fires back: Kings Co. water pipeline battle picks up steam But comments made during a hearing Monday on Sandridges restraining order pulled back the curtain on the real concern. If the plans are rejected and local groundwater agencies refuse to make corrections, the state can refer the issue to the Water Resources Control Board, which could set pumping limits and issue fines but only after a lengthy process. Work with nature; dont fight it, Avila said repeatedly. They have the original 1881 homestead certificate signed by a secretary in the James Garfield administration for 80 acres southeast of Lemoore, where they still live and farm. The Tulare Lake Subbasin groundwater plan references the subsidence and recognizes its a problem, Southwest Kings GSAs letter states. And Kings County doesnt have an ordinance against moving groundwater outside its borders. Previously, Bilyana spent five years working for the Controllers division at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Accounting and Corporate Accounting teams. Vidovich has said he only moves local groundwater to other lands he farms in Kings County. 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Not according to Jeoff Wyrick, Chairman of the El Rico GSA, the largest GSA in the Tulare Lake Subbasin. You may have never heard of John Vidovich, but his impact on the day-to-day life of the average southern San Joaquin Valley farmer is difficult to be understated. Some of that state contracted water appears to have been used in multi-million dollar deals by Boswell, based on the few records that could be tracked, and some has gone to Sandridges own fields in other counties, according to the companys owner. None of that has been discussed yet, he stressed. Putting a blockade on the canal banks was not a legitimate use of that easement, he said. Groundwater agencies up and down the San Joaquin Valley had to file plans with the Department of Water Resources earlier this year showing how they will bring the areas seriously depleted aquifers into balance by 2040 per the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. var gcse = document.createElement('script'); The sale is still considered a blow to Kings water portfolio by other farmers. s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse, s); I understand the fear, but its not based on reason.. It has 61 wells capable of pumping a combined 240 cubic feet per second. There is some uncertainty by El Rico GSA with regard to this request because of the hidden nature of Sandridges operations, Wyrick wrote in the June 2020 letter. Im all for moving water around, he said. Yeah, hes got a lot of money and hes been buying up land, makes some people nervous, Page said. Home | DMCA | SJV Content Use | Contact, Copyright 2022 SJV Water. 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. SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Vidovich, he said, is just the new water baron on the block, thats all. Jury awards $128.6M to failed solar town developer - Visalia Times-Delta Its not good in the long term, he said. Click here to read all the comment letters on groundwater sustainability plans submitted to the Department of Water Resources. Judge Chrissakis found the potential involvement of two public entities, the Stratford Public Utilities District and Angiola Water District, could take the line out of the private realm and require a study of potential environmental impacts.