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NEWS
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Valley rivers going dry

• by Lois Henry
Southern San Joaquin Valley Rivers are running at near historic lows — again. In fact, the Bakersfield City Council passed a resolution Wednesday officially declaring the Kern River as running at only 17% of normal, it’s second driest year since record keeping began in 1893. The driest year on record was 2015, the worst year…
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Kern River memories, photos sought

• by Lois Henry
The grassroots group Bring Back the Kern has launched a new public awareness campaign to pluck residents’ memories of a flowing river through Bakersfield. Bring Back the Kern, formed in 2020, advocates finding ways for water to flow through the Kern River channel through town on a more frequent and consistent basis. The group has…
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Lawsuit claims Kern County Water Agency shorted a key local canal’s volume

• by Lois Henry
The Cross Valley Canal is a key cog in the southern San Joaquin Valley’s water machinery. It moves water east and west between the California Aqueduct along Kern County’s western edge to the Kern County Water Agency’s facilities near Manor Street in Bakersfield. Along the way, it also connects with the federally owned Friant-Kern Canal,…
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California’s mountains are dry. Now we know how dry

• by Lois Henry
In a pitifully dry year like 2021, understanding the state’s skimpy snowpack is critical. Multi-million dollar decisions can hinge on even the smallest amounts of snow melt squeezed out of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Which makes information provided by Airborne Snow Observatories, Inc. flights vital, according to water managers. “Right now, there’s still 10,000 to…
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Bakersfield brewers send suds with a message to State Water Board

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern
Bakersfield raised a brew, literally, to the State Water Resources Control Board on Friday in honor of the Kern River. An iced down package of seven locally made craft beers was delivered to board members as part of the latest outreach effort by Bring Back the Kern, a local group advocating for water to flow…
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Bakersfield children’s book takes a trip down the Kern River

• by Lois Henry
The successful Bakersfield children’s book series “Indy, Oh Indy” has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund its sixth upcoming book, titled “The Mighty Kern River.” The book was inspired by a larger effort from the grassroots group Bring Back the Kern to raise awareness about Bakersfield’s mostly dry river and efforts to revive a more…
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Longtime Kern water manager retires

• by Lois Henry
Dana Munn, a fixture in the Kern County water world, has taken an early retirement from Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District due to medical issues, he announced Tuesday. Though his retirement date hasn’t been set, it is considered imminent, according to the irrigation district. The district is hoping to find a retired water manager to take over…
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State will hear Kern River water rights case

• by Lois Henry
Is there water available on the Kern River and, if so, how much? Parties to the long-running river dispute will finally get a hearing by the State Water Resources Control Board on those questions, at least. The big question — who should get the water? — will have to wait. Still, this is the first…
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New leaders named to Kern water districts

• by Lois Henry
The personnel deck of who’s who in Kern County water has shuffled recently at several agricultural water districts. The Rosedale-Rio Bravo and North Kern water storage districts both recently named new general managers. And the newly formed Westside Water Authority, made up of four different ag water districts, also brought on a new general manager….
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New director appointed to Kern County Water Agency

• by Lois Henry
Longtime family farmer Laura Cattani was appointed to the board of the powerful Kern County Water Agency during a special meeting on Monday. She is the second woman to serve on the board of directors in the 60-year history of the agency. Cattani will bring much needed diversity to the board, several directors said during…
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