Kern County Asked to Cut Water Use 25%

Residents were asked to cut water use 25% after a grim report on what an official says could be the state’s driest year on record.

Kern County Water Agency requested a voluntary reduction in domestic water usage in declaring a drought emergency late this week.

Any water that city dwellers can save would reduce pressure on underground reserves, which farmers need to pump to save tree and vineyard crops, said general manager Tom Clark.

He said that even if rainfall is normal for the rest of the 1990-91 season, Kern County farmers will get only 10% of their normal State Water Project supply.

A worst-case scenario, assuming that there is hardly any more rain, would leave farmers without any irrigation water from the state this year and Southern California urban users with only 30% of their normal supply, Clark added.

“The way this year is stacking up it could be the driest on record,” Clark said.

Farmers in western Kern County, where ground water is unsuitable for irrigation, could sustain $1.3 billion damage to permanent trees plus $400 million in 1990 crop losses if things stay as dry as they are now.

Farmers in the Bakersfield area have ground water available, but the quality might decline, and their electricity costs will rise considerably to pump the water to their crops. Officials say that some small wells may have temporary failures as ground water levels decline.

The water agency officially declared an emergency so that it can proceed quickly with drought-related construction projects by avoiding competitive bidding and environmental quality regulations.