“Conservation groups are going to court to try to bring back a flowing river in Bakersfield, where for years so much water has been diverted in canals to supply farms that the Kern River is usually reduced to a dry, sandy riverbed.
Six environmental groups sued the city of Bakersfield, saying that continuing to allow diversions of water upstream from the city harms the environment and the community.
“The river is just in a state of total collapse,” said Kelly Damian, a spokesperson for the group Bring Back the Kern. “That’s readily apparent to anybody who goes and just looks at the river. It’s dry. It’s dead. It’s derelict. It’s a blight on the community instead of what it should be.”” [Read More]