SJV WATER: Punjabi farmers gain few answers at workshop to address confusion over groundwater regulations

After a four-hour workshop with state officials in Visalia, Punjabi American farmers were left frustrated and questioning whether California realized it had weaponized groundwater in a way that could destroy the San Joaquin Valley. “SGMA has good intentions,” said Selma grower Nick Sahota during the Dec. 5 event. “But it has become a weapon to destroy the San Joaquin Valley.” He wanted to know if lawmakers had considered the impacts not just on farmers, but trucking, convenience stores and other ancillary valley businesses that rely on ag when they passed SGMA in 2014. Sahota referred to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which aims to bring severely overdrafted