Story by Catherine Stachowiak
The group Kern River Boaters wants the amount of water, that the Fairview Dam can redirect, reduced in order to keep it in the river.
Just over 15 miles of stretch of North Fork, of the river below Fairview Dam, only had a fraction of what it would normally have flowing through it during the last week of January because of the diversion of water, at Fairview Dam, feeding water into a flume carrying it to the Kern River No. 3 Hydroelectric Project (KR3) of Kernville.
According to Gabriela Ornelas, spokesperson for SCE, the company is seeking to renew its FERC license to continue operating the KR3 Hydroelectric project while balancing power generation with resource protection and public interests.
SCE requests input, from people using that particular stretch, of the Kern River recreationally. Therefore the public can take a survey at this link https://www.sce.com/regulatory/hydro-licensing/kr3
For Kern River Boaters the answer to the dilemma would be less diversion, with more water to the river, which they say benefits valley residents with better recreation and Kern River Valley businesses with more tourism.
For a more comprehensive view on this topic see https://www.turnto23.com/news/in-your-neighborhood/lake-isabella-kernville-wofford-heights/meet-those-advocating-for-natural-flows-throughout-the-north-fork-of-the-kern-river
