Kern County has decided that in order to keep the Kern River Golf Course, the California Living Museum, and Kern County Soccer Park open for the summer, it will drain Lake Ming.
The recent California drought has hit Kern County hard and towards the end of May, the county was informed that Bakersfield is running short on river water to supply its recreation facilities and Lake Ming. Those facilities use about 100 acre feet of water per month and, since other sources of water are prohibitively expense, using Lake Ming’s 700 acre feet of water seems to be the logical, if not ideal, alternative.
Even with Lake Ming’s water, all the facilities will still have to seriously curtail irrigation. According to Kern County Soccer Park President John Trino, the nonprofit has already halved its water use since last year.
Kern River Golf Course, which represents a huge county investment and employs 35 people, is considered a high priority for recreational water use. A petition calling for the implementation of whatever short-term solution is available to keep the course green throughout the summer was circulated and garnered more than 2,000 signatures.
A long-term solution would be to sink water wells, and a brochure printer may need to be employed to explain the issue to Kern County residents, along with possible solutions and costs.
