Kern River Archives - Page 8 of 16

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

April 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

It isn’t just water that’s been barreling down the Kern River in this historic water year. Trees, shrubs, trash – even old appliances – have come swirling down the river bed, plucked out by heavy equipment and piled on the banks in massive heaps. City of Bakersfield crews, along with other agencies, worked round the…

Floods

Giant tubes helping manage massive Kern River flows

April 17, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Those highly noticeable big black tubes being placed in the Kern River at Coffee Road are the fulcrum in a full-court press by Buena Vista Water Storage District to keep as much water as possible in the county. The western Kern County agricultural water district anticipates putting as many as 25 siphon tubes over what’s…

Uncategorized

Massive snowpack looming above the Kern River higher than any in recorded history – and more coming

March 31, 2023

• by Lois Henry

A prolonged warm spell this spring is weighing on Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay’s mind these days. “If that happens, we could lose infrastructure. Definitely,” he said. A new Department of Water Resources estimate of accumulated snow hanging above the state’s river systems shows the Kern River’s watershed at 422% of normal. The amount could…

dams • Floods • Uncategorized

Lake Isabella may be the next to “fill and spill” as it is continues filling rapidly

March 16, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Lake Isabella could be the next Central Valley reservoir to “fill and spill” as it is rising rapidly, with an estimated two million acre feet of water hunkered down in a record high snowpack and more storms coming. The Kaweah and Success reservoirs in Tulare County have already reached that point, Success releasing water from…

Floods • Uncategorized

Storm could “push the limits” of San Joaquin Valley’s flood response systems

March 8, 2023

• by Lois Henry

If the coming storm hits as predicted starting late Thursday, San Joaquin Valley flooding hot spots – and some new ones thanks to subsidence – could be swamped. It’s not because reservoirs above the valley floor are full. The culprits are likely to be the much smaller and typically dry “uncontrolled streams” threaded throughout the…

Drought • Uncategorized

Kern River watershed “Lookin’ good!”

March 1, 2023

• by SJV Water

Water watcher Scott Williams, who issues a Kern River Snow and Water Report every month, was practically giddy in his March 1 email stating: “Lookin’ good!” for this month’s report. The report compiles water and snow statistics from a variety of public sources. The upshot is the Kern River is forecast at 190% of average….

Rivers • Uncategorized

VIDEO: More water in the Kern River – where from this time?

February 21, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Kern River came alive again recently as the Kern County Water Agency pumped water into one section of the dry riverbed from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Various water agencies have been using the river to move or store water as supplies have increased thanks to the relatively wet winter California has experienced so…

Floods • Uncategorized

Funding to protect valley towns from flooding yanked out of budget even as climate change increases threat

February 9, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The same day that water gushed over the banks of Miles Creek swamping the small town of Planada in Merced County last month, the Newsom’s administration pulled $40 million out of its proposed budget that was intended for flood protection projects in the San Joaquin Valley. Advocates had worked for years to get that money…

Drought • Rivers

River water from 150 miles away flows through parts of the Kern River

February 6, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The lower Kern River has flowing through its dry bed after years of drought. But it’s not actually Kern River water….

Drought • Rivers

A river appears in the Kern River bed

January 14, 2023

• by Lois Henry

There was water snaking through the Kern River bed through Bakersfield on Friday. The City of Bakersfield was moving water it was obligated to release down the river for power plants through the riverbed and into Truxtun Lakes, the lake at the Park at Riverwalk and Aera Park, according to Daniel Maldonado, a city water…

NEWS

Red tape kept Bakersfield from clearing Kern River channel for years

Giant tubes helping manage massive Kern River flows

Massive snowpack looming above the Kern River higher than any in recorded history – and more coming

Lake Isabella may be the next to “fill and spill” as it is continues filling rapidly

Storm could “push the limits” of San Joaquin Valley’s flood response systems

Kern River watershed “Lookin’ good!”

VIDEO: More water in the Kern River – where from this time?

Funding to protect valley towns from flooding yanked out of budget even as climate change increases threat

River water from 150 miles away flows through parts of the Kern River

A river appears in the Kern River bed

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