Friday October 2, 2026
SJV Water —
The California Supreme Court hearing on Kern River flows has been changed from Redding to the justices’ home court in San Francisco, according to the court’s website. The hearing will still be held Oct. 7 at 9 a.m.
The California Attorney General’s office and Department of Fish and Wildlife also accepted an offer from the Supreme Court to make their own arguments in support of the plaintiffs, Bring Back the Kern and Water Audit California.
This case has generated significant interest as it hinges on a key statute used in numerous conservation cases, California Fish and Game Code 5937.
Bring Back the Kern and Water Audit sued the City of Bakersfield in 2022 over how it operates the Kern River. They argued the city needed to study those operations under the Public Trust Doctrine, which requires all state waters be used for the highest, beneficial use, including public recreation and the environment. Because the river is dry through Bakersfield most of the time, plaintiffs argued, Bakersfield had been derelict in its Public Trust duty.