BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The once flowing Kern River in Bakersfield is now dry as a bone. At the Bakersfield city council meeting Wednesday night, outraged citizens expressed their grief over the current state of the river and the wildlife it supports.
City councilmembers said the ball is now in the courts of two local water districts, North Kern Storage Water District and Kern Delta.
Members told those citizens to appeal to them instead.
“I’ll be even more blunt than the city manager,” said city attorney, Ginny Gennaro. “I would encourage you to go to Kern Delta, they have public meetings and tell them about why you want water in the river.”
The city’s water allotment was used up in August, now most of the water is going to water districts, which divert it into canals east of Manor Street.
Kelly Damian, an environmental advocate with the group, Bring Back The Kern, who was at that city council meeting, said there are multiple reasons that the water has dried up.
“The real reason why the river is dry is because there are five different entities that own rights to the Kern River water and none of them let their water run through the riverbed,” said Damian.