Dear Mr. Fierro,

The California Water Resources board has officially acknowledged this issue and will be holding a hearing next month. At issue is whether there is excess water on the Kern illegally being used one or more parties and whether it can be granted to the City of Bakersfield, which has stated it would run that water down the river.

I wrote about it in July.

I think supporting the city in this effort is very important. First, the board will decide whether there IS actually water to be granted. If it decides there is, THEN it’ll pick who gets it. That’s when we really need to pull out all the stops supporting the city.

Here’s my story.

Lois Henry

HENRY: Show your support with letter
Byline:       
Date:      7/24/2009
Text:     

We may be one step closer to getting water back in the Kern River.

The State Water Resources Control board has set a hearing for Oct. 26-28 to hear testimony and sift through evidence about whether as much as 120,000 acre feet of river water is up for grabs after a water district was found to have forfeited it in 2007. The city has argued that the water is out there for the taking and they want it to run down the river.

Imagine! A river in our river bed!

"This is the first stage of a two-stage process," said Florn Core, Bakersfield's water resources director.

This hearing will be very technical as the city and several water districts argue the fine legal points of whether unappropriated water is truly available.

Core said he feels the city has a strong case because during a 12-year-long legal battle over this very water, several lower courts found it was available, but the final decision had to be made by the Water Resources Control board.

At least four water districts and the city of Shafter have argued there is no unappropriated water. They've also said if the board finds there is some water up for grabs, they should have it for homes and businesses and irrigation.

I agree with the city that the river, and the citizens, should get that water for recreation, to restore the natural habitat surrounding the river bed and to replenish the aquifer.

I've encouraged people to write to the board in support of the city's position. This upcoming phase is much more technical than simply saying "I want a river!" But it still couldn't hurt to send a note reminding the hearing officer that A) you want any unappropriated water back in the river and B) you're watching this process closely.

If -- big IF -- the officer rules there is available water, then we'll need a full frontal assault in support of getting that water back into the river. That's still a ways down the road. For now, keep your powder dry and cross your fingers.