Legislation that aims to reduce downstream disasters by funding floodplain restoration projects in Kern, Tulare and Kings counties was introduced March 28 in the California Senate.

• $2 million for enhancement of Panorama Vista Preserve along the Kern River in Bakersfield.
• $20 million for acquisition and restoration of floodplains along Poso Creek in Kern County.
• $16 million for acquisition and restoration of floodplains along the North and South forks of the Kings River in Kings County.
• $5 million for enhancement and restoration of floodplains along the upper Kaweah River in Tulare County.

The funding would come from Proposition 4, the $10 billion Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness and Clean Air Bond Act passed by voters in 2024.

Prop. 4 includes $870 million for Wildlife Conservation Board grant programs that will help the state meet biodiversity, public access and conservation goals. Hurtado is angling for these funds. The money would go to the nonprofit River Partners for use in the Tulare Basin, a region Hurtado said has not historically received its fair share of state investment.

“This is a good bill that has multiple benefits and builds consensus among all stakeholders,” said Chris Brieno, Hurtado’s press secretary. “We feel like that consensus will help us go forward successfully.”

Strong Support for Floodplain Restoration

Floodplain restoration is a tool that can be in place before waterways are overrun, putting people, property and communities at risk. That’s because these broad spaces allow water to slow down and fan out across native habitat. Floodplains also give aquifers more time to absorb floodwaters and naturally recharge.

Subsidence, land sinking from overpumping, has compounded flooding issues by damaging infrastructure and changing how water flows across the region, something that was seen during the 2023 floods in Tulare and Kings counties.

Because of that, irrigation districts, farmers, environmental groups and a wide variety of state and federal organizations support floodplain restoration, a rare feat in the contentious world of California water politics.

The Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District board voted this week to send a letter of support for the bill to the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. The agency manages the Kaweah River watershed.

“The flooding that struck the southern San Joaquin Valley and the Tulare Basin during the historic winter of 2023 was a stark reminder of the need for major improvements in the region’s flood management capacity,” the letter states, calling floodplain restoration a “common sense, proven and scalable solution.”

General Manager Shane Smith said the agency was initially tipped off to the funding opportunity from nonprofit Sequoia Riverlands Trust in Visalia. Any extra funding for flood control is helpful especially if it also enhances groundwater recharge, he said.

“Because of this, we’re in support of funding coming to the area in hopes that the appropriate agencies that do flood control and groundwater recharge can benefit,” Smith said.

Poso Creek Flooding

McFarland Mayor Saul Ayon is hopeful the legislation is enacted. For years, Poso Creek has been problematic for the city.

In 1998, Poso overran its banks east of Highway 99. Floodwaters swept through a dairy and carried manure and mud into the homes of hundreds of McFarland residents, including Ayon’s parents.

In March 2023, three months after taking office, floodwaters again forced residents to evacuate.

“I got a call at 2:30 in the morning that we were going to incur the floodwaters,” Ayon said. “The next call was from my dad who was getting evacuated. He was the first person who yelled at me. He told me to find a way to fix this problem.”

Ayon said Hurtado’s bill gets to the root of the issue.

“This is long overdue,” he said. “Floodplains are a critical buffer. Poso does not begin in McFarland, but we’ve been paying the price for a long time.”

Poso runs along the west side of the city limits on its way toward Tulare Lake. Ayon pointed out that economic development is difficult on this side of town because businesses cannot afford the insurance of operating in a flood zone.

“Residents are always worried, asking about how much snow and rain is coming. It’s their livelihood that’s being impacted.”

Ayon is testifying Tuesday in Sacramento before a Senate subcommittee, and plans to share video of past flood events that will “open a lot of people’s eyes.” View the livestream here.