“State courts have been the setting for many historic water cases. Add another one to the annals of California water law: City of Bakersfield vs. Bring Back the Kern, argued before the California Supreme Court.
What exactly is the “highest beneficial use” of the Kern River? That is the question now before the state’s highest court following Wednesday’s hearing in San Francisco.
Bring Back the Kern and others sued the City of Bakersfield in 2022 over how it fulfills its obligations under the Public Trust Doctrine, which requires that all state waters be used for the aforementioned highest, beneficial use. That, the plaintiffs argue, includes not just farm irrigation but public recreation and the stewardship of the environment.” [Read More]