BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Experts at the 2025 Kern County Water Summit discussed vital water management challenges in California, the Central Valley, and Kern County.
- The 2025 Kern County Water Summit is scheduled for March 6th.
- The summit will focus on California's critical water challenges.
- It will be a full day of discussions among experts.
- Attendees can expect insights on water management and sustainability.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Thursday marked the 2025 Kern County Water Summit. I’m Madi Vollmer, your Bakersfield neighborhood reporter, and I spoke with a few vendors and speakers on why this is a crucial event, especially here in the Central Valley.
This is the 9th Annual Kern County Water Summit, where the focus was on the numerous water challenges and issues happening in Kern County, the Central Valley, and in California. The summit is to inform members of the Water Association and the general public.
Jenny Holtermann is the Executive Director of the Water Association of Kern County, and she says, "Many residents in Kern County and California that live here don't understand the magnitude of the water. We have lots of different sources of water, everything from groundwater, surface water, the Kern River, and there are lots of different facets that affect all of those. So, the better educated we can be, the better residents and users of water we can be ourselves."
14 vendors also participated in panel discussions, raising issues regarding land values and how a decreasing water supply could affect the layout of the land, land prices, and trends. Speakers touched on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, as well as water quality and water treatment.
Phillip Petters is the Kern County 1st District Supervisor, and he says, "Water is getting more scarce. I think there has been some mismanagement with some state policies. I think that there have been a lot of different contributing factors that have made water more scarce. It’s really getting down to the time where we have to start coming together and focusing on how we are going to make sure that we have that supply there in the future."
Swan Systems is a software program for irrigation and nutrient management, and they say water in the Central Valley is vital, especially because Kern County is the top agriculture industry in the nation.
Shannon Rinkenberger is the Key Account Manager for Swan Systems, and she says, "Water in agriculture is liquid gold. It’s what we need in order to grow the crops that feed the world, and anything we can do to educate the community about water and educate the community on how Swan Systems can come alongside growers to support that process is important."
Michael Ming is an appraiser and an ARA broker. He says this event is a great way for the public to communicate their ideas, especially now as the state could put Kern County's subbasin on probation. "The risk associated with what's going to happen with SGMA and the state basically threatening probation and taking over the basin, it’s caused, in my estimation as an appraiser, a risk to come into the market that’s driven our values even lower." He said.
This year's theme of the water summit is "Conquering the Path Forward," which the Water Association said seemed fitting for the ongoing discussions with the State Water Board.
No doubt water is a complicated issue with many different interests. That’s why the Kern County Water Association has bimonthly workshops to help educate the public.
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