Powerful Kern water agency bulking up its Sacramento presence and focus

The new general manager of the Kern County Water Agency adheres to a deceptively simple mantra: More water, less cost.

Contained in that sentiment are whole worlds of political, regulatory and legal complexities.

Which is why the agency recently hired a second person to represent Kern’s interests in Sacramento.

Taryn Ravazzini, was officially hired as an Assistant General Manager with an annual salary of  $350,000 during the agency’s August meeting. 

She will join Craig Wallace as part of the agency’s Sacramento team. 

Wallace was promoted to Assistant General Manager in February, with a salary of $285,000. 

“I felt it was necessary when Craig and Taryn are working on these issues that they speak with the authority that an Assistant General Manager position conveys,” said General Manager Eric Averett, who took over the agency’s top spot last October after having served on the agency’s board of directors since 2022.

“It’s difficult for us to influence the big, important decisions being made in Sacramento if our representatives always have to go back and check in with the general manager.”

Other large water organizations, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, have Sacramento offices full of staff making sure those region’s interests are heard, making it imperative that Kern has a seat at the table, Averett said.

The agency, which manages $371 million in funds, is the second largest contractor for State Water Project water.

The new hire and focus were applauded by local water districts whose state water contracts are administered through the Kern County Water Agency.

“He’s got our support on building a comprehensive team to represent Kern in Sacramento. That should be their main priority,” Dan Bartel, General Manager of the Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District, wrote in a text. “Great to see energy and leadership at the helm again.”

Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District General Manager Sheridan Nicholas echoed that sentiment.

“Craig has done an outstanding job representing the Agency’s interests in Sacramento for many years, and Taryn will further strengthen that presence and advocacy moving forward,” Nicholas texted.

Issues in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that affect Kern’s share of State Water Project water are increasing, not decreasing, Averett noted, adding the delta is just one of many areas that Kern engages with. 

Sacramento is also home to the Water Resources Control Board, Fish and Wildlife, Water Quality Control Board, Water Commission, Flood Protection Board and many other agencies that can affect water supplies and cost.

Plus, of course, there’s the Legislature.

In past years, the Kern County Water Agency had more employees focused on Sacramento issues but as the agency thinned from about 76 to 55 employees, almost all of that effort fell to just one person, Wallace.

The agency contracted with Ravazzini last year for some specific jobs and felt her contributions and solid working relationship with Wallace were a good fit with the board’s renewed Sacramento focus.

Ravazzini’s addition, plus the pending hire of an energy and infrastructure person in Sacramento to help with things like State Water Project audits, will not impinge on local staffing Averett said.

In fact, the agency continues to hire locally and the strategic plan adopted by the board calls for another Assistant General Manager to focus on Kern County issues – which are numerous.

Besides agricultural water, it also wholesales drinking water supplies to purveyors that serve 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.