Daniel Maldonado will take the reins of the Bakersfield Water Resources Department as its Director effective immediately, according to a City of Bakersfield press release. … Maldonado has worked for Water Resources since 2015, starting in maintenance and working his way up to Assistant Director in 2023. In that time, he helped see the department through two of the state’s worst multi-year droughts on record and one of its biggest water years in 2023. … Maldonado will also faces challenges as the city remains embroiled in a lawsuit over Kern River flows as well as an ongoing political fight over a 300% sewer rate increase approved by the City Council earlier this year. [Editor's note: Daniel Maldonado was a member of the Water Education Foundation's Water Leaders program in 2025.]