Water in Bakersfield and Kern County About Kern County • Background Kern County • Water use • Water sources R.I. Connecticut 1,212 sq. mi. • Entities that control water 5,018 sq. mi. • Groundwater recharge
Delaware 2,045 sq. mi.
Area 8,170 sq. mi. – Kern County covers 5.21 million Sources: acres, roughly the area of Tom Haslebacher, Kern County Water Agency Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Jon Parker, Kern Water Bank Authority Island.
About Kern County About Kern County
Delano Kernville Area Ridgecrest McFarland About one-third of Inyokern Wasco Kern’s area is on Shafter
the valley floor, Oildale BAKERSFIELD which is intensively Population Lamont cultivated. Kern County’s Arvin California City Taft There are 860,000 irrigated acres population is Tehachapi 677,400. It is one of on the valley floor, one-third of Maricopa which are permanent crops. the fastest growing counties in the state, Kern consistently ranks 3rd or 4th in growing 19% since the state in value of production. 1995, and about 2% per year. Kern is California’s 14th most populous county.
Annual water usage in Kern County:
Municipal and industrial - 182,000 acre-feet
Agricultural - 2,250,000 acre-feet
1 Gross Water Supplies and Net Water Requirements San Joaquin Valley Portion of Kern County Acre-Feet July 5, 2001 4,500,000
4,000,000 Additions to Kern County water sources: 3,500,000 Groundwater Storage 3,000,000
Kern River - 22% 2,500,000 Withdrawals from 2,000,000 Groundwater Storage State Water Project (California Aqueduct) - 1,500,000 23% 1,000,000 500,000 Federal (Friant-Kern Canal) - 11% - 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Local CVP SWP Demand Groundwater - 43% (Net Water Requirements)
Kern County Water Agency
• Created in 1961 by act of the Legislature
• Annual entitlement of one million acre-feet of water from State Water Project
• Largest agricultural participant on SWP - second largest urban participant
• Funded by tax assessments
2 Improvement District 4
Formed by the KCWA to act as a wholesale provider of • Formed by the KCWA to act as a wholesale provider of Kern River Water drinking water for most of the Bakersfield metropolitan area Treatment Plant
Henry Garnett Water • Operates Henry C. Garnett Water Purification Plant (Golden Treatment Plant State Avenue and Airport Drive)
• Funded by tax assessments
• Distributes water to retail water suppliers
Groundwater Recharge aka “Water Banking” Infrastructure is Key
Delano-Earlimart Rag Gulch WD ID Southern Devils Den WD Lost Hills San Lake WD Kern- Joaquin Isabella MUD Tulare
Berrenda Mesa 5 WD WD 4 North 3 Kern Friant Kern Canal Semitropic WSD Cawelo WSD WD Shafter- Belridge WSD Wasco ID VistaBuena WSD
California Aqueduct 5 Kern River 5 Rosedale-Rio4 Bravo 3 WSD Bakersfield Cross Valley Canal KCWA Water recharged into Improvement Water recharged into District No. 4 Arvin- the banking projects Edison Kern Delta WSD
can come from the Henry WD can come from the 5 West Kern Miller WD WD 5 Kern River, Friant Wheeler Ridge- Kern Canal, or Maricopa WSD California Aqueduct. 5
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Kern County Water Agency Kern County Water Agency California Aqueduct is Key for Recovery Response to Shortages
City of Bakersfield 2,800 Acres
California Aqueduct Delano-Earlimart ID Rag Gulch WD California Delano-Earlimart Rag Gulch WD Berrenda Mesa Banking Aqueduct ID Devils Den WD Lost Hills WD Southern Southern Devils Den WD Lost Hills Lake San Lake San PioneerKern-Tulare Banking Isabella WD Kern- Joaquin Isabella Joaquin WD MUD Tulare Berrenda Mesa WD Semitropic MUD
Berrenda Mesa Semitropic 5
5 WD WSD WD 5 WSD 43 NorthNorth Kern Water Bank 4 North 46
3 465 KernKern Kern 5 33 WSDWSD CaweloCawelo Semitropic WSD Cawelo Semitropic/MWD/et al Banking WSD WD Kern z WDWD Shafter- River Shafter- Belridge WSD Belridge WSD Wasco Friant-Kern Wasco ID Arvin-Edison/MWD Banking ID Buena Vista VistaBuena WSD Canal
5 5 WSD 55
4 Rosedale-Rio Bravo 5 ID#4/KTRG Banking 3 43 WSD Bakersfield
Cross Valley Canal KCWA Rosedale-Rio Bravo Bakersfield Improvement 5 KCWAKCWA Water recovered from 58 WSD Buena Vista Banking Water recovered from District No. 4 ImprovemenImprovement
Arvin- 585 tDistrict District No. No. 4 Edison
banking projects must 5 Rosedale4 -RioArvin- Bravo Banking 119 Arvin- Kern Delta WSD
EdisonEdison
5 WD 5
be pumped into the Henry 119 WSD be pumped into the 5 33 WSD West Kern Miller WD KernKern DeltaDeltaKern WDWD Delta/MWD Banking 5
WD Henry Miller California Aqueduct. West Kern 5 Wheeler WD 99 Ridge- WD 55 Cawelo/Dudley Ridge Banking Maricopa
Downstream areas, Wheeler Ridge- 5 WSD Wheeler Ridge- 184
Kern County has made MaricopaMaricopa WSD WSD North Kern/MWD Banking 5 5 primarily MWD, are 166 affected by water major investments since the Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Banking 55 quality. 1987-92 drought.
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3 Kern Fan Projects Historic Recharge/Recovery Operations
FACTORS INFLUENCING DEPTH TO GROUNDWATER Hydrograph for well 30S/24E-02C01 (North of Elk Preserve)
40 50 60 70 80 90 00 995 005 1935 19 1945 19 1955 19 1965 19 1975 19 1985 19 1 20 2 - 5,000,000
20 4,500,000 Increased demands after World War II
40 4,000,000 Completion of Lake Isabella Recovery 60 Completion of California Aqueduct Commences on 3,500,000 Completion of Kern River Canal KWB and Pioneer Projects 80 3,000,000
Construction of Cross Valley Canal 100 Kern River Natural Flow at First Point 2,500,000 of Measurement (5 Year Average) Depth to Groundw ater 120 2,000,000 Kern River Flow (acre feet) (acre Flow River Kern Depth to Groundwater (feet) Groundwater to Depth
140 Development of James 1,500,000 Pioneer I.D.
160 1,000,000
180 500,000 Recharge commences on KWB and 200 - Pioneer Projects
Kern County Water Agency Kern County Water Agency Groundwater Banking Groundwater Banking
Banking projects cannot be duplicated everywhere (politics, geology, geography, infrastructure).
They have their limitations (slow rate of reservoir cycling).
Access to high-flow or excess supplies is needed. Preservation of open space in areas with sandy soils is needed.
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