New board member with old ties appointed to powerful Kern water agency

The Division 1 board seat on the powerful Kern County Water Agency came full circle Tuesday after Jay Kroeker was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Ted Page who resigned early last month.

Kroeker is a son-in-law of the late Fred Starrh who held that same seat for 28 years before being beaten by Page in an upset election in 2010. Starrh died in 2019.

Kroeker is a partner in Starrh Farms, which operates mostly in northwestern Kern County.

Their lands are in the Lost Hills Water District and Belridge and Semitropic water storage districts, which get water from the State Water project, and the Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District, which holds a federal contract for water from the Central Valley Project.

Kroeker said in his application letter to the agency that he intended to “…work with other districts, collaborators, etc as needed for the benefit of all involved.” He did not reply to an email from SJV Water seeking further comment.

His term ends Dec. 4, 2026.

The agency received only one other letter of interest for the seat from Buttonwillow farmer Terry Chicca, who recently stepped down as president of the Buena Vista Water Storage District board.

He said he knows Kroeker well, considers him a friend and wishes him well on the agency board.

“People have no idea how much time and work it takes to sit on these boards, especially with SGMA,” Chicca said referring to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which mandates overdrafted regions bring aquifers into balance by 2040.

He’s looking forward to just being an observer.

“I get to bring my popcorn and watch the show,” Chicca joked.

There’s a lot to watch.

The Agency is the second largest contractor on the State Water Project, able to bring close to one million acre feet of water to local farms and drinking water agencies when the state has enough water. Thirteen area agricultural water districts get their supplies through the Agency’s contract with the state and are considered “member units” of the Agency.

Locally, the agency provides wholesale supplies to water purveyors serving large sections of east Bakersfield. It owns rights to high flow water on the Kern River. It is one of six entities that control the massive Kern Water Bank.  And it is one of three members that govern the Kern River Groundwater Sustainability Agency, which monitors water tables and can set pumping limits.

The agency also controls the movement of significant amounts of water into and out of the county through its Cross Valley Canal, which can move water east and west from the California Aqueduct, connecting to numerous other canals all the way to central Bakersfield.

The agency is partially funded through property taxes.