The groundwater in parts of western Kern County is salty and, generally, considered a bit crummy, longtime farmer Brad Kroeker admits. But that doesn’t mean it should be abandoned to wholesale pollution as Kroeker believes will happen if a “de-designation” recently approved by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board gains final approval from the state Water Resources Control Board. The regional board voted 5-1 at its Dec. 12, 2025 meeting to “de-designate” groundwater for municipal and agricultural uses under a six-square-mile area north of McKittrick. … The de-designation action was the end result of a lawsuit filed against the regional board by Valley Water Management Company, which has operated two large, unlined oilfield produced water percolation ponds in the area since the 1960s.

Other groundwater pollution news:

• Lake County News (Lakeport, Calif.): Officials discuss groundwater contamination, new equipment for residents in sewer spill impact area