Editorial in today's edition of The Bakersfield Californian

The Bakersfield Californian newspaper today endorsed restoring the Kern River in an editorial. You can help! Read further.

January 30, 2008 Bakersfield Californian editorial

Rivers help define the cities they flow through, and in many cases the cities also define the rivers. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Sacramento - all are situated on rivers of historical import and aesthetic character.

Bakersfield, by comparison, has the Kern River - or, more accurately, it has the Kern Riverbed.

Now, thanks to a recently settled lawsuit, Bakersfield may soon be able to enjoy the many benefits of a river. A wet river.

But we have to speak up, and quickly.

Californian columnist Lois Henry has stumbled upon a rare opportunity for this community to weigh in on the possibility of a flowing, trans-urban Kern River. In April 2007, a judge hearing a 12-year-old lawsuit between two local water districts found that one of the districts had forfeited its rights to some Kern River water. He said the Kern might no longer be "fully appropriated," meaning some water might be available to a water district that did not previously have a recognized claim to it. He said it was up to the State Water Resources Control Board to decide.

The City of Bakersfield filed an application, asking that it be awarded this "spare" water. The city said it would run that water down the natural channel of the Kern River.

As Henry suggests, the people of Bakersfield can help the water board decide. We agree. There's nothing like a rush of water coursing through the city. It's life, it's energy, it's peace.

It's also groundwater storage. The riverbed is the center of Kern's vast aquifer, the source of our drinking water. By recharging that aquifer with a living, meandering Kern River, we would have considerably cleaner drinking water coming out of the tap.

The city has calculated that as much as 110,000 to 120,000 acre-feet of water a year may become available. That's enough for nine or 10 months of water in the Kern River in all but the driest years - a far sight better than the two months' worth of water we've been getting in average water years.

Bakersfield deserves to reclaim its long-lost status as a river city. Write to the State Water Resources Control Board in support of the city's application. But hurry. The water agency is only taking comments through Thursday.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP.

Send your comments in support of the city of Bakersfield's petition and application to:
Kathryn M. Gaffney, P.E.
State Water Resources Control Board
Division of Water Rights
1001 I Street, 14th Floor
P.O. Box 2000
Sacramento, CA 95812-2000
Or e-mail her at: kgaffney@waterboards.ca.gov
High points to hit:
. Urge the SWRCB to assume jurisdiction over the forfeited Kern River water and find that the river is not fully appropriated.
Then state your support for Bakersfield's application for the water as it would:
. Increase flow in the natural Kern River channel benefitting residents, the environment and economy.
. Ensure Kern River water stays in Kern County.
. Protect and maintain the quality of our drinking water.
. Preserve river habitat.
. Enhance recreational opportunities.
. Return at least a portion of the river to public use.