What Did Kern Promise to Avoid Probation? (The Probationary Hearing Recap)

The 200 Day Sprint

In March 2023, California deemed Kern County's groundwater plans inadequate, triggering state intervention for one of the largest basins in California—home to 763,000 people across 3,000 square miles. At a February 2025 hearing, the State Water Board could have imposed probation but instead granted a seven-month extension with strict deadlines for revised plans.