KDWD Newsletter March 5, 2024

Kern River Status Update

Later this week the Department of Water Resources will be releasing their March 1 B-120 Forecast. This is one of several data points that the District uses to inform surface water supply availability during the irrigation season. While the District does not use the March B-120 to estimate proration allocations, it does give us insight into how surface water will be available.At the end of last year water applications for 2024 went out to all water users. All growers are required to review these applications to ensure the information we have on file is correct. A fillable form version of the cover page can be found on our website here (Simply complete, print, and include with your application). If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to our Operations Department at (661) 834-4653 and speak to Antonio. We ask that growers complete the applications and submit them as soon as possible as the water applications are essential to ensuring appropriate prorations when applicable.

To help visualize the current state of the River, the District is providing this graph that compares flow rates for the two-year periods of 2022-2023, the current period of 2023-2024, as well as other two-year periods in which the second year follows a significantly above average for the Kern River. The flows for this year are estimates only and subject to revision.
Below is a list of upcoming meetings that may interest our growers. The information presented at these meetings may directly affect agricultural practices and costs.

Upcoming Meetings:

Kern River Groundwater Sustainability Agency
Typically the first Thursday of the month at 10:00 AM
The next meeting will be on Friday, March 8
City of Bakersfield Water Resources Department
1000 Buena Vista Drive, Bakersfield CA 93311
Large Conference Room
Kern River Watershed Coalition Authority
First Thursday of the month at 1:00 PM
The next meeting will be on March 7
Rosedale-Rio Bravo WSD
849 Allen Road, Bakersfield, Ca 93314
Kern Groundwater Authority
Fourth Wednesday of the month at 8:00 AM
Next Meeting: March 27
To Be Determined