Onyx Ranch South Fork Valley Water Project

Onyx Ranch South Fork Valley Water Project

The Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District (RRBWSD) proposes to change the points of diversion and place of use for the pre-1914 appropriative water rights associated with the parcels on the project site so that the water can be delivered in the RRBWSD service area on the San Joaquin Valley floor and used for irrigation and groundwater recharge. The RRBWSD proposes to reduce the diversion and use of surface water on the project site by converting irrigated fields to non-irrigated pasture or native vegetation. With the proposed project, surface water that is diverted under the existing condition would remain in the South Fork of the Kern River and flow downstream. The net increase in the South Fork would flow downstream to the Isabella Reservoir, be released through the Isabella Dam, and flow downstream in the Lower Kern River until the water is diverted at the RRBWSD diversion points. From there, the RRBWSD would deliver the water to recharge basins and channels within and near its service area, west of the City of Bakersfield. The increased water supplies to the RRBWSD’s service area would mitigate the shortages in the RRBWSD’s contracted SWP water supply from the State of California, which has been steadily reduced due to environmental constraints impacting exports in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta.

Kern

Unincorporated