Recently it was announced that the City of Bakersfield is working with nearby Buena Vista Water Storage District to develop a plan to run more water down the river channel. This flow will be between 5,000 and 10,000 acre feet, depending on the amount of precipitation across the Kern River Basin in a given year. In low water years, there would be none, but in high water years, there will be more water for the Kern River.

This is great news - the Kern River needs its water. 5,000-10,000 acre feet of water will help considerably in having a flowing river for several more weeks of the year. 

This extra water not enough, though. The river probably needs more than 10 times that volume of water to allow for recreation in the river and for small amounts of year round flow. The Kern County aquifer is also seriously overdrafted, and all of this river water will help replenish crucial groundwater for the city and nearby privately owned wells.

Can you please find one other person to sign this petition? We are very close to 3,000 signatures. More supporters will make our request harder to ignore by the State Water Resources Control Board. Please help keep the momentum going!

If you would like to read more about the possible City of Bakersfield and Buena Vista Water Storage District water deal, please see this article from SJV Water.