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Fish to Receive 40% of Kern River Flow Under Judge’s Order

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

A judge’s order signed Tuesday ensures there will be at least some water flowing in the Kern River through Bakersfield in perpetuity. Unless, of course, it’s overturned.

Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp signed an order that requires 40% of the Kern River’s flow to remain in the river to keep fish populations healthy.

This order is the implementation of an injunction granted by Pulskamp October 30 mandating that some amount of water must flow through the river for fish populations.

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A River Runs Through Bakersfield? Judge Rules the Kern River Must Be Allowed to Flow

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Environmental activists in Bakersfield have won an initial victory in their legal fight to keep water flowing in the Kern River, which for many years was reduced to a dry, sandy riverbed.

A judge has granted a preliminary injunction preventing water diversions that would dry up the river, requiring sufficient water to provide for fish and keep the Kern flowing in the city.

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In Bakersfield, a Lawsuit Aims to Turn a Dry Riverbed Into a Flowing River

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

Conservation groups are going to court to try to bring back a flowing river in Bakersfield, where for years so much water has been diverted in canals to supply farms that the Kern River is usually reduced to a dry, sandy riverbed.

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Water Deal to Keep Taps Flowing in Bakersfield Even as Lake Isabella Levels Continue to Drop

/in , , /by /SJV Waterby Lois Henry

Bakersfield City water managers learned from California’s last “epic” drought – don’t wait to make a deal.

In 2015,  city water managers scrambled to keep taps flowing for more than 20,000 Bakersfield residents as the Kern River ran so low the city had zero water entitlement coming down the river.

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In Bakersfield, Many Push for Bringing Back the Flow of the Long-Dry Kern River

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

The Kern River cascades from the Sierra Nevada in a steep-sided canyon, coursing through granite boulders, and flows to the northeast side of Bakersfield. There, beside cottonwoods and willows, the last of the river collects in a pool where dragonflies hover and reeds sway in the breeze.

Then the river dies, disappearing into the sand.

Decades ago, the Kern flowed all the way through Bakersfield. But so much water has been appropriated and diverted in canals to farmland that the river has vanished in the city, leaving miles of dry riverbed.

Now, a group of residents is campaigning to bring back a flowing river in Bakersfield.

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Local Group Files Papers in Fight Over Kern River

/in , /by /GV Wireby SJV Water

A new player has entered the legal fray over the Kern River — the public. Actually, it’s a consortium of Bakersfield and other nonprofit, public interest groups that hope to sway the state Water Resources Control Board to, ultimately, re-water the mostly dry Kern River through town. The Flowing Kern Coalition made its debut Tuesday when it filed a notice of intent to appear at an upcoming proceeding on the Kern River. The Water Board’s Administrative Hearing Office announced in July it would begin the process of deciding whether the river has available water and, if so, how much on Aug. 17. This all stems from a 2007 court ruling that the Kern Delta Water District had forfeited some of its rights to the river.

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