Wednesday May 24, 2023
California Department of Water Resources —
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is using a unique piece of State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure for the first time since 2006 to reduce the amount of flood waters going into Tulare Lake in the Central Valley.
At the request of the Kern River Watermaster, the Kern River Intertie is now redirecting flood flows at a rate of 500 cubic feet per second (cfs) from the Kern River to the California Aqueduct to lower flood risk in Tulare Lake and for downstream communities in Tulare County. The Intertie is located west of Bakersfield near where Highway 119 crosses the Aqueduct.
While there is no immediate flooding or public safety concerns, timely use of the Intertie is critical to help prevent additional floodwater from exacerbating flooding in Tulare Lake as river flows increase.
Water flows entering the California Aqueduct will stay at 500 cfs and may increase to 1,000 cfs later this month. The Intertie is capable of handling up to 3,500 cfs of maximum flood inflows, however the expected operations will be between 500 and 1,500 cfs.