About Dudley Ridge Water District

Dudley Ridge Water District is a California water district located in southern Kings County on the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley. The district was organized on January 26, 1963 under California Water District Law. Land use within the district is agricultural, and through a number of annexations over the years, the district has expanded in size from the original 29,330 acres to its current size of 37,615 acres.  While a combination of row crops and permanent crops have historically been grown in the Dudley Ridge Water District, permanent crops are exclusively grown within the boundary today – primarily pistachios, almonds, pomegranates and grapes.

The district’s primary water source is imported surface water supplies from the State Water Project (“SWP”). Water is delivered to landowners from the California Aqueduct through five delivery structures (“turnouts”), and from each turnout water is moved through 12 miles of district-owned concrete-lined canals and 10 miles of underground pipelines to metered farm turnouts. Dudley Ridge Water District also owns a terminal reservoir to capture operational spills, where final field deliveries can be made directly from the reservoir. While this reservoir was historically utilized, privately owned storage reservoirs have since been constructed to supplant its operation.

New Economic Report Seeks to Highlight Significant Water Challenges for California Communities

A new report by University of California, Berkeley, economists Dr. David Sunding and Dr. David Roland-Holst shows that the California economy will suffer unless responsible, balanced water reforms are enacted in the effort to achieve groundwater sustainability goals in the San Joaquin Valley.  Read the full press release.