power plant Archives

“Where’s the river?” Bakersfield lowers required Kern River flows pending interim flow agreement

January 25, 2024

• by Lois Henry

Required flows down the Kern River channel were lowered by the City of Bakersfield on Monday as officials have collected more data on how much water is actually needed for the river to get west of town, according to an email from the City Water Resources Department. The move is part of a larger effort…

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Repairs to Isabella Dam power plant completed; Kern River flows to ramp back up

January 7, 2024

• by Lois Henry

Repairs to a damaged tunnel inside the power plant at the base of Isabella Dam were completed Saturday, just seven days after the project began, according to an attorney for Water Audit California, a public interest group suing to keep water in the Kern River. Releases from the dam had been reduced to about 100…

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Isabella power plant operators have a plan to make repairs without drying up Kern River

December 29, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Engineers with Isabella Partners, which operates the power plant at the base of Isabella Dam, believe they’ve found a way to make repairs to the plant without drying up the lower Kern River for weeks on end. If successful, water levels will drop from where they are now, but the river won’t go totally dry….

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Army Corps approves cuts to Isabella Dam releases as groups look for ways to protect Kern River fish flows and legal maneuvers expand

December 19, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Army Corps of Engineers approved a request by operators of the power plant at the base of the dam to drastically cut water releases between Dec. 18 and Jan. 7 for a planned repair project to the plant. Under the approval, releases would drop from between 500 and 700 cubic feet per second down…

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Army Corps was unprepared for amount of seepage from Isabella Dam that is now swamping residents

September 18, 2023

• by Lois Henry

Landowners and residents who live in front of the Auxiliary Dam at Lake Isabella are being swamped by “seepage” coming through the earthen dam that is ruining septic systems, causing sinkholes, clogging the area with weeds and breeding swarms of mosquitoes. They’ve tried working with the Army Corps of Engineers, which recently rebuilt the Auxiliary…

dams • Floods

“Vibration” in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows

April 25, 2023

• by Lois Henry

The Army Corps of Engineers will temporarily drop outflows from Isabella Dam to zero starting at midnight Wednesday so the power plant at the dam can shut down, according to Kern River Watermaster Mark Mulkay. Once the power plant, run by Isabella Partners, is down, water will be routed through the dam’s gates and outflows…

NEWS

“Where’s the river?” Bakersfield lowers required Kern River flows pending interim flow agreement

Repairs to Isabella Dam power plant completed; Kern River flows to ramp back up

Isabella power plant operators have a plan to make repairs without drying up Kern River

Army Corps approves cuts to Isabella Dam releases as groups look for ways to protect Kern River fish flows and legal maneuvers expand

Army Corps was unprepared for amount of seepage from Isabella Dam that is now swamping residents

“Vibration” in Isabella Dam power plant causes temporary halt of Kern River outflows

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