California to Friant-Kern Canal: “No $ for you!”
Any hope that California might kick in money to fix the sagging Friant-Kern Canal was killed Thursday when a bill that would have provided $400 million toward the effort was stripped of all funding. The bill, SB 559 by State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, had been stuck in the suspense file (a kind of legislative…
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THIS JUST IN: New Executive Director named at Water Association of Kern County
Expect to see a lot more about water in Kern County on your favorite social media platform in the near future. “The Water Association of Kern County is all about outreach and education and there’s no better way to do that than social media,” said new Executive Director Jenny Bertagna Holtermann. Holtermann was recently named…
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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…
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Unlikely 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
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Clean water advocates hoping to safeguard SAFER funding
Just when it looked like small drinking water systems in California were finally getting the long-term help they so desperately need, along came COVID-19. The state is peppered with failing small systems, many serving low-income communities without the resources to repair them. At least one-third of those failing systems are in the San Joaquin Valley,…
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Valley farmers look to Kern River tributary to replenish groundwater
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Could “angel investors” buy a piece of the Friant-Kern Canal?
An investor funding proposal that could substantially increase the Friant-Kern Canal’s historic flow capacity is gaining interest among the Friant Water Authority’s member districts. In theory, that investor money could bump the amount of water that has historically flowed down the canal on the Central Valley’s eastern flank by up to 800 cubic feet per…
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Unpaid bills spiking at some water utilities
Several state legislators have asked the Governor to extend his order prohibiting water shutoffs for nonpayment to even the smallest water utilities. Right now, the Governor’s April 2 order applies to water utilities serving 200 or more connections. If Gov. Newsom expands his order, it could have a huge impact in the San Joaquin Valley,…
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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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Maven's Notebook is an excellent daily accounting of California water happenings statewide.
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