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Water sources in Kern County.
| Source | Percent |
|---|---|
| Groundwater | 36% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
What is the Kern Water Bank?
What factors were key to the creation and success of the Kern Water Bank?
What is the benefit of KWB?
How did the KWB start?
What is KWB water?
What are the challenges of KWB?
See 3 more
About this website
How does Kern County get its water?
Most of the Kern County water supply comes from huge subterranean reserves of groundwater stored beneath fertile farmlands of the San Joaquin Valley.
Where does Bakersfield get their water from?
Groundwater wells (36%) The State Water Project/California Aqueduct (26%) The Kern River (20%) Federal Water Projects (12%)
What is Kern County famous for?
Kern is the number one oil and agriculture-producing county in the nation, with the second most diverse economy. Kern is the energy building capital and has a flourishing healthcare infrastructure.
Why is Kern County so well suited for water banking projects?
When it comes to water banking, nobody does it better than Kern County. Because of it's unique geographical and geological make-up, Kern County has the ability to s tore water in the underground during wet years, for use during dry years.
Can you drink Bakersfield tap water?
For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2021 - March 2021), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Where does most of California's drinking water come from?
The Colorado Aqueduct, built in the 1930s, transports water from the Colorado River to Southern California. It's operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and is the region's primary source of drinking water.
What is the richest neighborhood in Bakersfield?
Olde StockdaleConsidered by many as the most affluent neighborhood in the city, Olde Stockdale has the highest median household income compared to all other neighborhoods in Bakersfield.
What is a person from Bakersfield called?
Bakersfield, California• Rank48th in the United States 9th in California• Density2,700/sq mi (1,000/km2)• Metro909,235 (62nd)DemonymBakersfieldian36 more rows
What is the safest city in Kern County?
Ridgecrest. #1 Best Places to Live in Kern County.
Is Kern County water safe to drink?
For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2021 - March 2021), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Who owns the water in Kern County?
The City of Bakersfield's purchase of Kern River water rights and facilities in 1976 resulted in a major shift from private to public control of this tremendous local resource.
How deep are water wells in Kern County?
between 600 and 800 feetPublic-supply wells typically are drilled to depths between 600 and 800 feet below land surface, consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of about 275–450 feet, and are perforated or screened below the solid casing.
Do they stock the Kern River with trout?
The recent creation of a unique Trophy Trout Program has placed some excellent size fish into the upper Kern River. The program permits the holding and feeding of extra trout numbers until they reach size. They are released with regular trout at various plant locations from Kernville north to Brush Creek.
Is Kern River Drying Up?
Decades of excessive water diversions for agriculture have dried up the last 25 miles of the Lower Kern River.
Was Bakersfield once an ocean?
The area was shallow and rich with sea life. The marine animals lived and died there by the millions for as long as 700,000 years, the scientists say.
Is Bakersfield water hard or soft?
Water Hardness CaliforniaCityAVG Hardness PPM / mg/LAVG Hardness Grains per GallonBakersfeild (North Garden)79.24.6Bakersfield74.64.4Baldwin Park19011.1Bellflower23713.9148 more rows
Amid Drought, Billionaires Control A Critical California Water Bank
Stewart and Lynda Resnick have built an $8 billion farming fortune. But it never would have happened if they hadn’t privatized majority ownership of California’s Kern Water Bank.
Forbes
Forbes
Lynda Resnick - Wikipedia
Lynda Rae Resnick (born 1943) is an American billionaire businesswoman. Resnick is married to Stewart Resnick, who is her business partner, and through their holding company The Wonderful Company, they own the POM Wonderful and Fiji Water brands, Wonderful Pistachios and Almonds, Wonderful Halos, JUSTIN Wines, Landmark Wines, JNSQ Wines and the Teleflora floral wire service company.
Water Fact
The Edmonston Pumping Plant delivers as much as 2.5 million acre-feet of water to 13 Southern California water contractors.
Help support education, outreach and information about water issues in Kern County
The Water Association of Kern County is embarking upon a new, stronger effort to educate the general public about water issues that effect Kern County. A newly designed website, videos, Facebook and Twitter are all methods that will be used as a way of reaching the public.
What is the Kern Water Bank?
The Kern Water Bank (KWB, or the bank) acts as a drought reserve for its member entities, storing excess water in wet years to supplement inconsistent deliveries of surface water in dry years.1 The bank was formed by a group of agricultural organizations and water districts in 1995 after a seven-year drought demonstrated the unreliability of imported surface water. Water stored in the bank comes from three surface water sources and enters the aquifer via infiltration ponds. The banked water is withdrawn at the request of participants and primarily goes to agricultural uses. The infiltration ponds used for recharge also provide environmental benefits by creating a wetland environment for migrating birds and protected species.
What factors were key to the creation and success of the Kern Water Bank?
Several factors were key to the creation and success of the Kern Water Bank. The State Water Project is crucial in a number of ways. The availability of Table A water among project participants and the willingness of the state to trade the physical assets of the nascent Kern site for those contract water assets were crucial for moving the project from a stalled state controlled groundwater storage project to a locally controlled water bank. The temporal relationship between local demands and available conveyance through the SWP is also important to the banks success. The SWP has a conveyance bottleneck during the times of peak demand and thus south of Delta storage, such as that provided by the KWB, is highly valuable for increasing supply reliability.
What is the benefit of KWB?
The main benefit of the KWB is increased water supply reliability for its member agencies. The KWB provides water storage to member agencies when they have excess water, and recovery when they do not, increasing the reliability of each member’s water supplies. During dry years, SWP allocations have been below 100%, for example, a low of 5% in 2014 and a high of 70% in 2002.66 During these years, when KWB members could not meet irrigation demands with SWP water alone. Banked water allowed bank members to keep crops alive and maintain production and profit.
How did the KWB start?
The KWB was established by an exchange through which KWBA member agencies voluntarily retired rights to 45,000 AFY of water from the SWP in return for a transfer of the land where the bank is currently located from DWR to KWBA members. Eighteen entities had the opportunity to participate in the bank by giving up Table A allocations – however, only six chose to do so. While in retrospect the value of participation in the KWB has proven significant for its members, at the time the project was perceived as a risky investment because it was unclear whether permitting could be negotiated. Further, at the time of the exchange, water sales of $1,000/AF for Table A water were reported in the area. Assuming this reflects the market value of larger quantities of Table A water at the time, the retired water entitlement exchanged by bank members had significant market value. However, in retrospect, SWP contract deliveries have since been much less reliable, and are projected to decrease in reliability given climate change and other factors.56
What is KWB water?
The KWB is operated for the benefit of its member agencies. It does not hold water rights on its own. The bank is governed by the Kern Water Bank Authority (KWBA), a joint powers authority (JPA) consisting of six member agencies.38 Two of the participants are California Water Districts (WDs),39 two are California Water Storage Districts (WSDs),40 and two are other water-related agencies. Both WDs and WSDs are special districts, a form of local government created to deliver a specific service to a defined geographic region.41 The four KWB member WDs and WSDs supply water for agricultural purposes. The two other members include the KCWA and the Westside Mutual Water Company. The KCWA participates on behalf of its Improvement District No.4, which provides treated water for urban uses.42 The Westside Mutual Water Company is a mutual water company, a corporation that delivers water to its shareholders.43,44,
What are the challenges of KWB?
The challenges KWB faces are mainly physical. One future challenge for the bank include routine maintenance, including the cost of replacing and rehabilitating wells. As the bank frequently operates year-round, wells naturally need regular rehabilitation and replacement. The biggest challenge to the bank, however, is water supply. Essential to the bank’s future operations is the continued availability of surplus water in wet years for recharge. If California faces a particularly prolonged drought, water may not be available for storage and the bank may begin to see net outflows rather than net gains to water in storage.
When was the monthly precipitation above or below average in Kern County?
In the most recent month, January 2022, Kern County had 0 inches of precipitation. That’s 2 " drier than average when compared to all January s since 1985.
When has Kern County, California experienced extreme high or low temperatures?
In the most recent month, January 2022 , the average temperature in Kern County was 48 °F, which is 3 °F warmer than average when compared to all January s since 1985.
What is the Kern Water Bank?
The Kern Water Bank (KWB, or the bank) acts as a drought reserve for its member entities, storing excess water in wet years to supplement inconsistent deliveries of surface water in dry years.1 The bank was formed by a group of agricultural organizations and water districts in 1995 after a seven-year drought demonstrated the unreliability of imported surface water. Water stored in the bank comes from three surface water sources and enters the aquifer via infiltration ponds. The banked water is withdrawn at the request of participants and primarily goes to agricultural uses. The infiltration ponds used for recharge also provide environmental benefits by creating a wetland environment for migrating birds and protected species.
What factors were key to the creation and success of the Kern Water Bank?
Several factors were key to the creation and success of the Kern Water Bank. The State Water Project is crucial in a number of ways. The availability of Table A water among project participants and the willingness of the state to trade the physical assets of the nascent Kern site for those contract water assets were crucial for moving the project from a stalled state controlled groundwater storage project to a locally controlled water bank. The temporal relationship between local demands and available conveyance through the SWP is also important to the banks success. The SWP has a conveyance bottleneck during the times of peak demand and thus south of Delta storage, such as that provided by the KWB, is highly valuable for increasing supply reliability.
What is the benefit of KWB?
The main benefit of the KWB is increased water supply reliability for its member agencies. The KWB provides water storage to member agencies when they have excess water, and recovery when they do not, increasing the reliability of each member’s water supplies. During dry years, SWP allocations have been below 100%, for example, a low of 5% in 2014 and a high of 70% in 2002.66 During these years, when KWB members could not meet irrigation demands with SWP water alone. Banked water allowed bank members to keep crops alive and maintain production and profit.
How did the KWB start?
The KWB was established by an exchange through which KWBA member agencies voluntarily retired rights to 45,000 AFY of water from the SWP in return for a transfer of the land where the bank is currently located from DWR to KWBA members. Eighteen entities had the opportunity to participate in the bank by giving up Table A allocations – however, only six chose to do so. While in retrospect the value of participation in the KWB has proven significant for its members, at the time the project was perceived as a risky investment because it was unclear whether permitting could be negotiated. Further, at the time of the exchange, water sales of $1,000/AF for Table A water were reported in the area. Assuming this reflects the market value of larger quantities of Table A water at the time, the retired water entitlement exchanged by bank members had significant market value. However, in retrospect, SWP contract deliveries have since been much less reliable, and are projected to decrease in reliability given climate change and other factors.56
What is KWB water?
The KWB is operated for the benefit of its member agencies. It does not hold water rights on its own. The bank is governed by the Kern Water Bank Authority (KWBA), a joint powers authority (JPA) consisting of six member agencies.38 Two of the participants are California Water Districts (WDs),39 two are California Water Storage Districts (WSDs),40 and two are other water-related agencies. Both WDs and WSDs are special districts, a form of local government created to deliver a specific service to a defined geographic region.41 The four KWB member WDs and WSDs supply water for agricultural purposes. The two other members include the KCWA and the Westside Mutual Water Company. The KCWA participates on behalf of its Improvement District No.4, which provides treated water for urban uses.42 The Westside Mutual Water Company is a mutual water company, a corporation that delivers water to its shareholders.43,44,
What are the challenges of KWB?
The challenges KWB faces are mainly physical. One future challenge for the bank include routine maintenance, including the cost of replacing and rehabilitating wells. As the bank frequently operates year-round, wells naturally need regular rehabilitation and replacement. The biggest challenge to the bank, however, is water supply. Essential to the bank’s future operations is the continued availability of surplus water in wet years for recharge. If California faces a particularly prolonged drought, water may not be available for storage and the bank may begin to see net outflows rather than net gains to water in storage.
