Sadly, much of the FERC-authorized "study season" for KR3 will take place during this extremely unusual water year. This graph, which compares average inflows at Fairview Dam for the last 27 water years (the duration of the 1996 license to date), shows just how much of an outlier it is. Since KR3 is physically limited to taking 600 cfs from the river, its effects on the 16-mile diverted stretch are (relatively) reduced when natural inflows are high and enlarged when inflows are low. This high water year will infect much of the "public perception" survey data that Edison prevailed upon using in lieu of real science on issues such as angling, whitewater, and aesthetics, as well as the few scientific studies authorized on river health. Almost no years are like this one. This is a fact the managing agencies should take extremely seriously and take action to account for in this proceeding that aims to encumber the Wild & Scenic NF Kern for another 40 years. We will ask for your support this fall to support our efforts to extend and expand the study season to capture the full sum of deleterious effects this project imposes on the North Fork Kern's natural and social environment.
PS — there is no guarantee that the next license will have similar inflows as this one. In the last 33 years, the five lowest water years occurred in 2013 and later.