The California Supreme Court has granted review of the Kern River water diversions case and will evaluate whether to uphold a lower court ruling requiring the city of Bakersfield, CA, to keep water in the river to protect fish.
“Our coalition argued in our petition to the highest CA court that the appeals court ruling was inconsistent with prior court rulings and also raised some important constitutional questions that need to be addressed,” wrote petitioner Bring Back the Kern in a Facebook post.
In 2023, a Kern County Superior Court ruled in favor of environmentalists who sought a preliminary injunction to stop the city and water districts from diverting water from the river. The ruling was appealed by agricultural water users, and an appeals court issued a stay on the injunction. The case is still proceeding in Kern County Superior Court, but the Supreme Court’s review could mean the earlier injunction could be restored.
