BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The 2026 Water Summit is coming to Bakersfield on Thursday, just one week after the governor's office announced California's 2028 water plan.
The event marks the 10th annual gathering of water leaders and community members in Kern County. Jenny Holtermann, executive director of the Water Association of Kern County, said this year's summit has a train theme — a nod to "The Little Engine That Could" and Kern County's continued progress on water issues.
"We are full steam ahead now and all of our water visions," Holtermann said, adding that the summit has evolved alongside the water issues facing the region.
"Water issues are always evolving. There's always something, and whatever the hot topics are or the new topics in water, we try to bring those to the community so that we can be better educated here in Kern County," Holtermann said.
With spring underway, Holtermann said the region is still in a period of uncertainty regarding water supply.
"We are in an interesting time in the spring. We see these snowpack surveys come in and how they're gonna play out, so we're kind of still at that prediction stage of seeing how the snowpack is gonna melt, how the rivers are gonna flow, and how we're gonna get our water for the year," Holtermann said.
The summit will also feature a full panel on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, known as SGMA. The Department of Water Resources director of SGMA is scheduled to speak about changes over the last 10 years since the law took effect and how implementation efforts — including recharge basins and other water resources — are playing out.
The governor's recently announced plan calls for banking millions of acre-feet of water through the year 2050. Holtermann called it ambitious.
"The governor seems to be quite optimistic that we can accomplish this," Holtermann said.
A deputy director at the Department of Water Resources, who oversees the water plan, is also expected to speak at the summit and will outline the road map laid out in the plan.
Holtermann said technology and geoengineering are among the areas drawing increased research attention, including cloud seeding. She acknowledged the topic can spark skepticism.
"That's why we are bringing an expert in cloud seeding to our conference to really lay out the facts and kind of debunk some of those myths about cloud seeding," Holtermann said.
She also pointed to conservation and infrastructure investment as critical factors going forward.
"We have so many people here in California, and more people keep wanting to come here, and we haven't built new infrastructure in decades, so how does that help us or hurt us going into the future, and how do we need to really invest in those infrastructure projects?" Holtermann said.
Online registration for the summit has closed, but those still interested in attending can email info@WAKC.com.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
