Kern River Archives - Page 5 of 15

Kern River to get a new Watermaster, but one with a familiar name

August 24, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Art Chianello will step in as the new Kern River Watermaster at the start of the new water year, which is Oct. 1. Chianello, who retired as head of the City of Bakersfield’s Water Resources Department in Sept. 2022, is extremely famliar with the inner workings of the Kern River as a large chunk is…

Floods

High water in the Kern River brings new legal issues as local group seeks to keep water in the riverbed

August 10, 2023

• by Lois Henry

A local group that’s suing the City of Bakersfield for how it manages the Kern River, is seeking a court order that would force the city to keep water in the normally dry riverbed as this year’s massive runoff begins to recede. “The relief sought is narrowly focused,” states the motion for a preliminary injunction…

Rivers • Uncategorized

Two Kern River power plants up for new licenses – and greater scrutiny

August 3, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Boaters and anglers who’ve long complained about the impacts of two power plants on Kern River flows, want federal regulators to give more water back to the river as part of separate relicensing procedures now underway. “Our main issue is continual flows,” said Jim Ahrens, president of the Kern Fly Fishers club. “To have a…

Floods

Responders finally able to recover body of kayaker pinned in the Kern River for 43 days

July 27, 2023

• by Lois Henry

William Hoxie is finally going home. The accomplished 26-year-old kayaker died June 14 while navigating the historic high flows on the upper Kern River. He was kayaking with several others but got separated on one side of the river. When he tried to cross back, his craft was impaled by a submerged log and he…

Floods • Rivers

Not all Kern River water is being counted the same by water districts

July 26, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Farmers in an agricultural water district northwest of Bakersfield may have South Fork Kern River water stored in a local water bank. Or they may not. It depends on who’s counting the water. The Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage district says that since July 5, up to 37 cubic feet per second of South Fork Kern…

dams • Floods

The story of the Kern River this year was one of historic numbers, luck and long term plans paying off

July 26, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Despite a few white knuckle moments, the Kern River’s historic flows were successfully managed through a combination of incredible timing, long term planning and pure luck, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay. During a detailed discussion of Kern River and Isabella Dam operations Tuesday before a packed room, Mulkay led the audience through the…

dams • Uncategorized

Isabella Dam officially off the No. 1 “at risk” dam list, what will that mean for downstream users?

July 20, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially lowered the risk level of Isabella Dam from “highest urgency and risk” to “low urgency” on Thursday. Though an Army Corps spokesman said this means Isabella has returned to “normal operations,” it’s unclear what exactly that will mean for downstream Kern River irrigators as we grind through summer…

Floods

Irrigators want to slow the flow of Kern River to bring Lake Isabella to its brim

July 12, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The question of whether Lake Isabella might “spill” has now turned to whether it will fill. The lake is achingly close to being full. It stood at 528,663 acre feet as of Wednesday afternoon – just 39,337 acre feet shy of its full capacity. But it needs to hit that max fill mark for the…

Uncategorized

Kern River flows to drop again after noise detected in Isabella Dam outlet tunnel

June 26, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Outflows from Lake Isabella into the Kern River will be cut to zero starting at 1 a.m. Tuesday so dam operators can check the source of “funny noises” coming from the outlet tunnel, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay and an Army Corps of Engineers press release. “They’ve been hearing funny noises in the…

Floods

Kern River flows ramping down thanks to cool weather but will remain strong through the fall

June 9, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Cooler weather has slowed the anticipated snowmelt above Lake Isabella enough that outflows from the dam will ramp down to 6,500 cubic feet per second starting Sunday, according to Kern River Water Master Mark Mulkay. “We’ve been watching the snow surveys and weather up there and think we’re in really good shape to be able…

NEWS

Kern River to get a new Watermaster, but one with a familiar name

High water in the Kern River brings new legal issues as local group seeks to keep water in the riverbed

Two Kern River power plants up for new licenses – and greater scrutiny

Responders finally able to recover body of kayaker pinned in the Kern River for 43 days

Not all Kern River water is being counted the same by water districts

The story of the Kern River this year was one of historic numbers, luck and long term plans paying off

Isabella Dam officially off the No. 1 “at risk” dam list, what will that mean for downstream users?

Irrigators want to slow the flow of Kern River to bring Lake Isabella to its brim

Kern River flows to drop again after noise detected in Isabella Dam outlet tunnel

Kern River flows ramping down thanks to cool weather but will remain strong through the fall

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