Bakersfield to keep Kern River flowing through end of July

A small “charm offensive” organized by a group suing the City of Bakersfield over the Kern River was rewarded Wednesday with news that current flows through town will continue through the end of July.

The city had estimated it would only have water for flows through the July 4th holiday, but Bakersfield Water Department Hydrographer Miguel Chavez reported that he anticipates being able to squeeze a few more weeks out of this year’s snow pack.

“Overall, it was a pretty successful water year,” Chavez said at Bakersfield’s Water Board meeting.

Chavez’ report came after two recent Stockdale High School graduates asked the board, run by City Council members Bob Smith and Andrea Gonzalez, to continue working toward a solution to get water in the river more often.

“A flowing river reminds us that we’re all connected,” said Gianna Maskarino. “When the river is dry, it sends a message that this important part of our city isn’t being valued.”

Mia Yeazel agreed.

“The Kern River makes Bakersfield unique,” she said, noting it runs through the entire city east to west.

The young people were accompanied at the meeting by Kelly Damian, spokesperson for Bring Back the Kern, a public interest group that, along with Water Audit California, sued Bakersfield in 2022 over how the city operates the river, leaving dry through town most of the time.

Gonzalez thanked the young women for speaking out, adding that he and “…many folks in leadership have the same heart and goal as you do.”

The City Council has tried to get water in the river in various ways over the years, Smith said, noting that he’s on the bike path daily and has seen the difference sustained flows have made.

“Your statement that it looks like we don’t value that asset, is exactly right. When it’s dry, it’s dead and dusty and when there’s water it’s alive.”

Damian thanked the Water Department for getting water into the river starting in May and keeping it flowing through some of our hottest months.

“It’s been incredible to see how much things come back to life,” she said.

There are more herons, egrets, tadpoles and fish. Even a spade-footed toad, “Which is very exciting for nature nerds.”

More importantly, she said, families have ventured into the river, getting their kids out of the house and into nature.

The current flows may be temporary, but she said it has given the community a glimpse of what the future could look like on a regular basis.

“We can imagine a thriving, greenbelt and see how those free and open spaces are good for people’s physical and mental health”

She echoed Yeazel’s and Maskarino’s request that city leaders to work with other river interests to come up with a cooperative agreement to make that dream a reality.

She also invited them — and the public – to River Walk Park June 27 to help with a trash clean up organized by Bring Back the Kern.

The lawsuit against the city is set to be heard sometime in February 2027.

But before then, the California Supreme Court may hear arguments on one aspect of the case. That is a preliminary injunction that had briefly restored river flows back in 2023.

The injunction was appealed by several agricultural water districts with river rights and overturned by the Fifth District Court of Appeal in 2024. The plaintiffs appealed that reversal to the state Supreme Court, which granted review in 2025. After a year of accepting briefs on the issue, the high court recently announced that it was ready to hear arguments possibly as early as this September.