A trial over flows in the Kern River, originally set for December 8 this year, was kicked 15 months into the future to Feb. 8, 2027 on Wednesday.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp wanted to give all the parties and their many lawyers enough time to do the proper “homework,” including numerous depositions of expert witnesses, and await a ruling by the California Supreme Court on one portion of the case, that may, or may not, alter some of the key issues being examined.
He set aside 30 court days for the trial, which is anticipated to be complex.
Or, many issues could be preempted by the state Supreme Court, which agreed on July 16 to review a part of the case. Supreme Court decisions often take up to two years from the time justices agree to review a case.
The high court justices will review a ruling by the 5th District Court of Appeal that overturned a preliminary injunction issued by Pulskamp in fall 2023 ordering the city to keep enough water in the Kern River for fish that had returned following that year’s epic runoff.
Fifth District justices overturned that injunction in April stating Pulskamp erred by not first determining how much water was needed by the fish and then balancing the “reasonableness” of that demand against other, existing demands.
The 5th District also ruled that Pulskamp erred by only requiring a “nominal bond” of $1,000 from the plaintiffs. Bonds are required in case an injunction is overturned to pay for any harm the injunction may have caused. In this case, agricultural water districts involved in the case stated that during the few months Pulskamp’s injunction was in place, it cost them $5.7 million.
How the Supreme Court rules on those issues could redirect the underlying case now set for trial in 2027.
Kern River case so far
- 2022 – Lawsuit filed by Water Audit California, Bring Back the Kern and other public interest groups against City of Bakersfield for “dewatering” the river.
- 2023 – Preliminary injunction mandates Bakersfield keep water in the river for fish.
- April 2025 – Injunction overturned by 5th District Court of Appeal
- July 2025 – State Supreme Court grants petition to review 5th District ruling
- August 2025 – Trial date moved to Feb. 2027.
The case originated in 2022 when Water Audit California, Bring Back the Kern and several other public interest groups sued the City of Bakersfield seeking to have Bakersfield study its river operations under the Public Trust Doctrine.
That doctrine holds that the state of California owns all natural resources on behalf of the public and they must be used for the highest beneficial use. That has traditionally been agriculture and municipal uses. In recent years, though, the environment and public recreation have also been seen as beneficial uses.
Bakersfield, which owns a chunk of river water, as well as the river bed, its banks and most of the weirs and headgates from Hart Park to Enos Lane, is the only defendant in the case.
Several agricultural water districts with rights to the river are “real parties in interest,” meaning they can weigh in on the case because its outcome could affect their rights. Those parties include the Buena Vista, North Kern and Rosedale-Rio Bravo water storage districts, the Kern Delta Water District and the Kern County Water Agency.
Separately, a bid by the Kern County Water Agency to have Pulskamp booted off the case was denied July 23 by the 5th District Court of Appeal. The agency had argued Pulskamp would be biased against it after his preliminary injunction was reversed by the 5th District in April.
