Happy 50th “Kern Riversary!” 1970 vote brought river into public hands
Fifty years ago this week, the Bakersfield City Council committed an audaciously historic act. On Monday evening Sept. 28, 1970, council members decided to sue Tenneco West for a slice of the Kern River. “The shock was great to many, but from that day forward we had their attention and cooperation,” states the “Kern River…
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Western Kern River bike path extension to start this month
Residents will soon be able to scoot, cycle, jog or hike on the bike path all the way from the middle of Bakersfield to Buena Vista Lake. Construction on a 7-mile-long extension of the Kern River bike path from its current terminus at Enos Lane to Buena Vista Lake south of Highway 119 will begin…
Read MoreUnlikely source promises (a little) water for the Kern River
If all goes according to plan, there will be water in the Kern River through spring in most years. And not just when Mother Nature dumps a boatload of snow in the Sierras. The City of Bakersfield is poised to ink a deal with Buena Vista Water Storage District that will provide at least some…
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N-i-i-i-i-ce kitty!
Retired Shafter farmer David Bell snapped a photo of what appears to be a young mountain lion as Bell was biking on the Kern River Parkway early Tuesday morning. You need to login to view the rest of the content. Please Login. Not a Member? Join Us
Read MoreValley farmers look to Kern River tributary to replenish groundwater
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“Unqualifiedly” in favor of Pine Flat Dam in 1918
Jon Earnest, editor of the Reedley Exponent, found this gem of a story as he was searching the archives recently for stories on our last pandemic in 1918. Pine Flat Dam had not yet been built. You need to login to view the rest of the content. Please Login. Not a Member? Join Us
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Temperance Flat Dam on indefinite hold after report shows it doesn’t pencil out for water users
An investment analysis that looked at how much it would cost water users to build and operate the proposed Temperance Flat Dam northeast of Fresno without government funding was finished earlier this year and quietly passed among water districts, which just as quietly asked the federal government to shelve work on the project. A small…
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Westlands Water District is again eyeing San Joaquin River water
Westlands Water District sent shockwaves through the Central Valley water world recently after it alerted several districts that it intends to apply for rights to flood flows on the San Joaquin River. A previous attempt by Westlands to get rights to San Joaquin River water 20 years ago ignited a ferocious east-west battle in the…
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Kern River body count at 307 as Memorial Day weekend kicks off
Traffic was steady and growing, heading up to the Kern River Valley on Highway 178 by 9 a.m. Friday as a small group gathered for a grim kick off to Memorial Day weekend. The river’s body count, announced on signs at the mouth of the Kern River Canyon, was increased by nine. That brings the…
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Kern River escape day
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Maven's Notebook is an excellent daily accounting of California water happenings statewide.
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