About Us
KRWCA Overview
The Kern River Watershed Coalition Authority signed a Joint Powers Agreement on October 1, 2011 between the following public agencies:
- Arvin-Edison Water Storage District
- Henry Miller Water District
- Kern Delta Water District
- Kern-Tulare Water District
- North Kern Water Storage District
- Olcese Water District
- Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District
- Semitropic Water Storage District
- Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District
- Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District
This agreement is made with reference to the following facts:
- Each of the parties to this Agreement administers and/or delivers irrigation water to growers in the Kern River, Poso Creek, Rag Gulch or White River watersheds, and other minor creeks, in the southern San Joaquin Valley (hereinafter collectively referred to as the Kern River sub-watershed). As a result, they are vitally interested in preserving the viability of irrigated agriculture and other enterprises within their service areas.
- The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act regulates any person discharging waste or proposing to discharge waste that could affect the quality of waters of the State of California. Such discharges are regulated in the Central Valley by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (the “Regional Board”), which takes the position that a discharge can occur when any amount of tailwater or storm water leaves irrigated land and enters surface waters of the State of California either directly or indirectly. The Regional Board also takes the position that any discharge must be either individually permitted pursuant to a waste discharge requirement or subject to a waiver of such requirement. The Regional Board also takes the position that irrigation of any lands may lead to a discharge of waste to groundwater, which it asserts it can regulate. The parties do not necessarily agree with some or all of the positions of the Regional Board.
- On June 22, 2006, the Regional Board adopted a Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges From Irrigated Lands, which took effect on July l, 2006 (the “Waiver”). Pursuant to the Waiver, an owner or operator of irrigated lands that produce discharges may avoid obtaining individual waste discharge requirement’s by complying with the Waiver. Owners or operators of irrigated lands may comply with the Waiver either as individuals or through coalition groups. The Regional Board is now pursuing the creation of a new “Long-Term Irrigated Land’s Regulatory Program” (“ILRP”) which is intended to monitor and regulate both surface waters and groundwater (the existing Waiver and such proposed and any adopted ILRP herein collectively referred to as “Water Quality Regulation’s”). A coalition group for the Kern River sub-watershed has been formed in order to combine resources to review, analyze, comment upon, and reduce the cost of compliance with the Waiver and which were heretofore administered by the Kern County Water Agency.
- Because compliance with and potential challenges to the Water Quality Regulations is integral to continuation of the provision of water by the parties for irrigated agriculture within the service areas of the parties to this Agreement, they wish to participate in development of, potentially challenges to, and the facilitation of compliance with the Water Quality Regulation’s by forming a joint powers authority to serve as the watershed coalition group for the Kern River sub-watershed and to make itself available to act as the coordinator for their respective landowners and operators with respect to activities related to the Water Quality Regulations.
Board Meetings
Kern River Watershed Coalition Authority regular board meetings
are held the first Thursday of every month at the Kern County
Water Agency Board Room in Bakersfield at 1 p.m. unless
otherwise noted under the News & Updates page.
Contact us to learn more about the Kern River Watershed Coalition Authority.
Board of Directors
| KRWCA Manager Nicole Bell |
| Officers Eric Averett, Chairman of the Board Jason Gianquinto, Vice Chairman of the Board Robert Kunde, Treasurer of the Board |
| Voting Members Dennis Johnston, Arvin-Edison Water Storage District Charlie Riddle, Henry Miller Water District Donald Collins, Kern Delta Water District Bruce Kelsey, Kern-Tulare Water District Kimberly Brown, North Kern Water Storage District Jeff Seimens, Olcese Water District Eric Averett, Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District Jason Gianquinto, Semitropic Water Storage District Ben Wilson, Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District Michael Blaine, Wheeler Ridge-Water Storage District |
| Alternate Voting Members David A. Nixon, Arvin-Edison Water Storage District Jeevan Muhar, Arvin-Edison Water Storage District Max Bricker, Henry Miller Water District Mark Mulkay, Kern Delta Water District Pete Kaiser, Kern Delta Water District Skye Grass, Kern-Tulare Water District Dick Diamond, North Kern Water Storage District James Nickel, Olcese Water District Dan Bartel, Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District Dan Waterhouse, Semitropic Water Storage District Dana Munn, Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District Robert Kunde, Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District |
| Associate Members Buena Vista Coalition Cawelo Water District Coalition Westside Water Quality Coalition |
Kern River Watershed Coalition Authority 