Kern County water managers will hold a full day of public meetings around the county on Thursday to explain and answer questions about the revamped Kern subbasin groundwater plan.
The document lays out Kern’s groundwater situation now and how water managers plan to improve water tables and keep them stable into the future.
Meetings will all be held Thursday at:
- 10 a.m. to noon, in McFarland at the Mouser Center, 100 South Second Street. (in-person only)
- 2 to 4 p.m., in Bakersfield at the Kern County Water Agency, 3200 Rio Mirada Dr. (in-person and virtual via Zoom)
- 6 to 8 p.m., in Lamont at the David Head Community Building, 10300 San Diego St. (in-person only)
There is no need to register for any of the events. More information, including the Groundwater Sustainbility Plan (GSP), can be found on the Kern subbasin website.
Kern and most of the rest of the San Joaquin Valley are mandated to replenish withering aquifers that have been severely over drafted by years of excessive groundwater pumping. Over pumping has contributed to subsidence, land sinking, water quality problems and even entire communities losing water as their wells have dried up.
In 2014, the state passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which requires local agencies to bring aquifers into balance to protect all groundwater users by 2040.
Kern’s first two plans were found inadequate. Its most recent plan, submitted to the state in May 2024, has not been thoroughly reviewed by the state Water Resources Control Board, which has recommended the region be put on probation.
A probation hearing for the region is set for Feb. 20, 2025.
Under probation, well owners who pump 500 acre feet a year – including municipalities – would have to meter and register their wells with the state at a cost of $300 each, report extractions and pay a $20-per-acre-foot fee. If water managers can’t come up with a feasible plan to protect groundwater after a year, the state would step in and set pumping limits for the region.
The Water Board has so far placed two other valley regions on probation, the Tulare Lake subbasin, which covers most of Kings County, and the Tule subbasin, which covers the southern half of Tulare County’s flat lands.
