Jorge Barrientos is the director of marketing and public relations at Chain | Cohn | Clark law office. He serves on board of directors for a variety of community organizations including The Hub of Bakersfield, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Kern County Chapter), and Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Education Foundation. When he’s not working or serving our community, you can find him traveling the world and hanging with his family, which includes wife Carla, 3-year-old son Julian, and 10-month-old daughter Gianna.
GUESTS:
Sydney Ralphs (Michael Lightfoot)
Herb Benham (Sue Benham)
GOOD NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Nik Boone spent the lunch hour golfing at Stockdale CC instead of coming to the Rotary meeting.
Giresh Patel shared that his wife is recovering from knee surgery, and just in time for their 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday.
Paul Harris Fellow honoree: Justin Salters
Paul Harris Fellow honoree: Ashley Voorhies
PROGRAM:
Harry Starkey, also known as the “water God” by some and “water man” by others, joined us to give us update on the state of water in California and the Central Valley. He is the Director of Water Resources Development for Hallmark Group, former general manager for West Kern Water District, former project engineer for Kern County Water Agency, and former Downtown Rotary member/past president.
Harry shared that the last wet year was 2019. Due to our current drought situation, conservation limits will likely be put in place for households – 55 gallons per day, per person by 2025. More limits will also likely be put in place for turf, and water bills will increase as water becomes more expensive.
In other water news:
SGMA, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which requires agencies to balance groundwater pumping levels, remains top of mind for the ag industry. Compliance should be met by 2040.
Reductions are likely to occur for oil and ag industries.
Locally, Bring Back the Kern continues to fight for water in the Kern River through Bakersfield. In one plan, several million dollars per year would be needed to power the movement of water through the river, and back out to the water district. In a Q&A, Rotary member Scott Hamilton chimed in that the city several years ago turned down an offer to do just that, blaming “aggressive politics”. Harry opined he hopes new city management will support such a plan.
Q&A:
Why not treat ocean water, or divert water from Northern California? Too expensive, and SGMA.
Percent of water use by category? Ag about 45%; Environmental about 40%; Residential/Commercial/Industrial about 15%
Delivery system problem? Yes, we have “managed resources into scarcity.”
How much do we use now? Previous unscientific report out of Taft was about 170 gallons per day per person. But 55 is a “do-able matric”.
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Jorge Barrientos is the director of marketing and public relations at Chain | Cohn | Clark law office. He serves on board of directors for a variety of community organizations including The Hub of Bakersfield, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Kern County Chapter), and Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Education Foundation. When he’s not working or serving our community, you can find him traveling the world and hanging with his family, which includes wife Carla, 3-year-old son Julian, and 10-month-old daughter Gianna. 
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