Advocates for the Public Trust
“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 …
Continue reading “Repairs to Isabella Dam power plant completed; Kern River flows to ramp back up”
“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. …
“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 to …
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has approved a request from Isabella Partners to reduce Isabella Dam water releases following a review and analysis by the USACE Sacramento District. Isabella Partners made the request so that they can safely perform maintenance within their power plant property at the base of the dam. USACE’s approval provides …
Continue reading “USACE approves request to temporarily reduce Isabella Dam flows”
“Anticipated repairs to the power plant at the base of Isabella Dam could cause a “massive fish kill” along the length of the Kern River as flows would have to be cut to almost nothing for weeks. Isabella Partners, which operates that power plant, submitted a request to the Army Corps of Engineers to cut …
Agricultural water districts are striking back at what they say is an historic water heist by the City of Bakersfield.
“The judge has now signed an order that would require the city to keep at least 40% of the river flowing.”
A Kern County Superior Court Judge signed an order that requires 40% of the Kern River’s flow to remain in the river to keep fish populations healthy.
A judge has granted a preliminary injunction preventing water diversions that would dry up the river, requiring sufficient water to provide for fish and keep the Kern flowing in the city.
A Kern County judge has approved a preliminary injunction, to limit the amount of water from the Kern River the city of Bakersfield can use. The injunction will prevent the now-flowing Kern River from returning to the dry state it was in last year.
Monday’s ruling prohibits the city from implementing diversions that reduce river flows below the volume necessary to maintain good condition for fish.
A selection of quotes from the Kern County Superior Court’s ruling granting a preliminary injunction in Bring Back The Kern v Bakersfield.
Full text of the Kern County Superior Court’s ruling granting a preliminary injunction that prevents the City of Bakersfield from making diversions in a manner that habitually dries the Kern River.
Today, the Kern County Superior Court granted Water Audit California’s and other
joint plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction that prevents the City of Bakersfield from
making diversions in a manner that habitually dries the Kern River.
“In a win for environmental groups, a California state court judge on Monday temporarily blocked Bakersfield from reducing water flow on the Kern River.”
In what one attorney called a “moment of truth” for the City of Bakersfield, a judge ordered the city to keep enough water in the normally dry Kern River to protect fish populations.
Finding that Plaintiffs’ are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim, and after weighing potential harms to the respective parties in this case, the Court concluded that the California Legislature has already considered competing uses of water when it passed Fish and Game Code, section 5937 and thus determined that enough water must be allowed to remain in a waterway, that at a minimum, keeps fish in good condition.
“A Kern County judge has granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit by citizen water advocacy groups, filed against the City of Bakersfield and its water usage. To ensure protection of fish and other river wildlife, the city is prohibited from using more water than it needs.”
“A Kern County Superior Court judge is considering whether to issue an injunction that would prevent the city of Bakersfield from distributing water in the Kern River until the lawsuit is settled.”
“A Kern County judge heard arguments Friday in a case targeting water flows in the Kern River and whether they’re sufficient to support its fish.”
“Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp came back several times during an Oct. 13 hearing to what he saw as a “major issue” in the dispute over keeping water in the Kern River – its plumbing.”
“The courtroom is where most water policy gets decided, and if we want our river to have water, then we, the average citizens of Bakersfield, have to go to court, too.”
On August 10, 2023 a coalition of community advocacy groups filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to return a living river to the City of Bakersfield. The litigation proposes a community alternative will maintain both river and irrigation flows by relocating diversions to downstream of the City.
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.
Water Audit California sent a letter to the Bakersfield Water Resources Department demanding the city conduct a study of how its diversions from the river are impacting the public trust and determine ways to avoid those impacts.