KR3 DAMAGES River Aesthetics

ISSUE: After allowing for a small fish flow, Edison takes the next 600 cfs out of the river at Fairview Dam, dewatering 16 miles of the North Fork Kern. Fish flows may be so low as to make the river visually unappealing to the public who love it.

OUR TAKE: We believe that fish flows for the KR3 hydroproject are too low from an aesthetic standpoint. They leave the waterway narrowed, river banks emptied, small boulders exposed, pools shallowed and slowed, and riffles shortened or eliminated altogether. The Wild and Scenic North Fork Kern — and those who love it and are amazed by it — deserve better.

DETAILS:

• Natural flows above Fairview Dam fall below 125 cfs very rarely — only 2% of the time.

• Fish flows for KR3 are 100 cfs or less for 10 months out of the year, every year — and go down to 40 cfs for four months every year.

• It’s not surprising that a river that nature built for flows above 125 cfs is visually unappealing at flows around half or a third that amount.

• Research tells us that “professional” judgments on river aesthetics fail to match those of the general public.

• In the last licensing proceeding (1996), USFS acknowledged that KR3’s effect on the North Fork Kern’s visual resources was a legitimate issue, but one that was brought up “too late” in the process to be addressed. KRB brought this issue up at the earliest possible time in this proceeding.

• Visually unappealing flows negatively affect Kern River Valley residents and visitors.

• Increased flows for aesthetics would also bring positive effects for the riverine ecosystem, the sustainability of the fishery, the health of humans in the river, and opportunities for recreation.

PROPOSAL: KRB has proposed that KR3’s effect on the visual quality of the North Fork Kern be studied along the lines prescribed in Flows and Aesthetics: A Guideline to Concepts and Methods (Whittaker 2017). This issue has never been studied in the 101-year history of KR3.

EDISON’S RESPONSE: According to Edison, there is no reason to conduct this study because “there is no evidence of a problem” with river aesthetics.

HOW TO HELP: Let the decision-makers hear your voice! Tell them there is a problem: you think the KR3 diversion leaves flows below Fairview Dam so low that the river looks sad, or neglected, or barren — so low that it no longer looks like the beautiful river you know and love. Our eyes are not lying to us. KR3 obviously degrades the visual quality of the North Fork Kern. You can’t take water out of the river and make flows that almost never occur (like those below 125 cfs) into a typical occurrence without negatively affecting the visual character of this river. Tell them you support KRB’s “Aesthetic Flows” Study request.

1. How to Tell FERC.

2. How to Tell the Forest Service.

GO DEEPER: Read KRB’s “Aesthetic Flows” Study Request.