Water Overview
Water in Kern County
Water is the key ingredient to life in Kern County. Everything – from pizza parlors to beauty salons, oil pumps to pistachio farms – needs water to survive and thrive.
Water fact: One acre-foot of water is 326,000 gallons. This is enough to supply two families with water for one year.
That’s approximately one football field covered with 1 foot of water
Who uses the water in Kern County?
Municipal and industrial: 400,000 acre-feet
(Homes, auto shops, restaurants, factories, schools, etc.)
Agricultural: 2,700,000 acre-feet
(Farms that grow the food we eat – and feed the nation. California and Kern County farmers grow over 250 crops.)
Water sources in Kern County
Precipitation in Bakersfield averages 6.49 inches per year. It’s a very dry climate. That means water for families, business, farms, the environment and recreation, has to come from elsewhere. Besides rain and snow, there are several water sources in Kern County, all of which are limited, valuable and important to Kern County’s economy and lifestyle.
| Source | Percent | Acre-feet / Year |
| Kern River | 21% | 700,000 |
| State Water Project (California Aqueduct) |
21% | 700,000 |
| Federal (CVP) (Friant-Kern Canal) |
12% | 400,000 |
| Local Streams and Other Sources (Poso Creek, etc.) |
15% | 500,000 |
| Groundwater | 31% | 1,100,000 |
| TOTAL | 3,400,000 acre feet |
