BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Recent rainfall has left puddles in some areas of the Kern River, but thee are far from flowing water. One local organizations says they've collected more than 10,000 signatures on their petition to the state water board for help in bringing the river's flow back to healthy levels.
Tim McNeely, spokesperson for Bring Back the Kern, says the river deserves more respect.
"You look at all the great cities of the world, right? Try to imagine Egypt without the Nile. That would be insane! People would say you can't drain the Nile dry, but we want to drain the Kern River dry. A world-class river. Dry? Somehow, that's okay," said McNeely. "It matters because it's just plain wrong for a river not to have water."
McNeely says the drought isn't what's responsible for the dry river, and he's not the only one who thinks so. American Rivers named the Lower Kern River the seventh most endangered river in 2022 due to excessive water withdrawals.
The Kern River flows from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and through Bakersfield, but according to experts, the water is being diverted prematurely to support agriculture. They say the diversion contributes to several threatened and endangered species due to loss of habitat.
"We are a local community, and we don't have power to impact all the stuff that's going on in the world socially, politically, economically… We are a mess right now. But locally, here as a community, we can do things for our community, and one of the things that you as a citizen have the power to do is demand your elected official to pay attention to this issue," said McNeely.
And according to McNeely, the dry river constitutes a violation of state law as well. Section 5937 of the California Fish and Game Code states that fish and aquatic life must be maintained in good condition below a dam. That applies to the entirety of the Kern River below the Isabella Dam.
McNeely says in over 10 years of living in Bakersfield, he's never actually seen the Kern River at full capacity, adding that the river belongs to the public, so they have the right as the ultimate beneficiaries to demand flow back into Kern County according to the Public Trust Doctrine.
"The petition reaching 10,000 signatures shows that it's not just a handful of volunteers at Bring Back the Kern that care about this. It's the community. It's the citizens. It's the real stakeholders. It's the public saying 'We deserve a river. We know we deserve this. Our community deserves better,'" said McNeely.
McNeely says that restoring flowing water to the Lower Kern River would attract businesses and increase job opportunities in the city, and he says he believes it's possible because on the other side of the empty river, there's water flowing through a canal.
"It's the sound of something better, and if you want something to sound better, nothing sounds better than a running river. If you want to attract talent to the community, if you want to bring in top-tier people, if you want a place for people to recreate with your families, with your loved ones, rivers matter," said McNeely.
In December, Bring Back the Kern sued the City of Bakersfield for diverting water out of the city. 23ABC reached out to the city, but they were unavailable for comment as of 5:00 pm. We are also waiting on a response from the State of California Water Board.
"We're called 'Bring Back the Kern.' We're not trying to invent the Kern. We're not trying to put the river where it never was," said McNeely. "We're trying to simply restore what's missing."
McNeely says if you would like to get involved, you can sign the petition, participate in river clean-ups, or assist with policy and advocacy to bring the river back to Kern County.
