Source: sjvwater.org

SJV Water recognized in statewide journalism contest

Fetched 2026-07-02 08:01 from sjvwater.org

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Reading Summary: SJV Water Recognized in Statewide Journalism Contest

Key Facts

• SJV Water won two first-place awards in the 2025 California Journalism Awards (California News Publishers Association): one for its weekly newsletter The Splash (~6,000 subscribers, 50%+ open rate) and one for enterprise reporting on the video series “Who Owns the Kern River?”
• Won second place for breaking news covering the Army Corps of Engineers’ surprise order for maximum releases from Kaweah and Success Lakes in January, ostensibly tied to the LA fires — despite that water not being federally owned or flowing to LA.
• Won fifth place for local government coverage of Eric Averett’s transition from Kern County Water Agency (KCWA) board president to general manager at a $525,000 annual salary plus perks, following the firing of the previous manager.
• SJV Water is a nonprofit founded in 2019 by Editor/CEO Lois Henry.

Who Is Affected

• Kern County Water Agency ratepayers and member water districts
• City of Bakersfield and other Kern River water rights holders
• Local water managers downstream of Kaweah and Success Lakes
• Fish and ecosystems dependent on the Kern River and Kaweah River flows

Policy/Legal Angle

• The California Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether the City of Bakersfield and other Kern River owners must maintain minimum instream flows for fish — a significant public trust/water rights question.
• The Army Corps of Engineers’ reservoir release order raised questions about federal authority over water not owned by the federal government, and the appropriateness of using San Joaquin Valley water supplies to respond to an LA-area disaster.
• Averett’s appointment raised questions about the legality and conflict of interest of a former board president serving as general manager of the same public agency.

Blog Angles

1. Kern River instream flow case: With the California Supreme Court taking up whether Bakersfield must keep water in the largely dry Kern River for fish, what precedent could this set for other over-appropriated rivers in the San Joaquin Valley — and how does it intersect with the public trust doctrine?
2. Army Corps emergency release authority: The Kaweah/Success Lakes order exposes a murky question: under what legal authority can the Army Corps order releases of water it doesn’t own, and what accountability mechanisms exist when those orders affect local water managers mid-storm season?
3. KCWA governance and salary transparency: Averett’s $525,000 salary and the board-to-management pipeline raise broader questions about oversight of special water districts in California — how common is this pattern, and what reforms (if any) exist to prevent revolving-door conflicts at ratepayer-funded agencies?

Full Text

SJV Water recognized in statewide journalism contest

We’re proud to announce that SJV Water was recognized for its outstanding journalism in the statewide 2025 California Journalism Awards contest by the California News Publishers Association.

We won two first place awards in our division, one for our weekly newsletter “The Splash” and the other for best enterprise reporting for our video series “Who Owns the Kern River?”

“The Splash” is delivered free every Wednesday to the inboxes of nearly 6,000 subscribers. It provides snippets from our latest posts on the SJV Water website, plus alerts on upcoming events and even a few personal tidbits, such as how Editor Lois Henry quit smoking many – many – years ago.

Judging by our more-than-50% open rate, “The Splash” is a popular and useful newsletter and very easy to get – just click here.

Our entry for “enterprise reporting” was unusual as it wasn’t a print entry but video.

Our goal was to help viewers understand at least some of the complexities of how the ownership of the Kern River has evolved over the years, who gets how much water and when. This topic is especially relevant as the state Supreme Court is set to hear arguments about whether the City of Bakersfield, and other river owners, are obligated to keep some water flowing in the mostly dry riverbed for fish. You can view the whole series here .

SJV also won second place in our division for “breaking news” for our story last January about how the Army Corps of Engineers ordered maximum releases from the Kaweah and Success lakes, ostensibly, to help fight the Los Angeles fires. The order came out of the blue to local water managers and sent them into a scramble trying to figure out how to handle the massive amount of water expected to come gushing out of the lakes.

The order was modified to reduce releases but the issue was still confounding as that water isn’t owned by the federal government and doesn’t flow to the Los Angeles area. SJV Water led what would eventually become national coverage on an odd sidelight to the horrific and deadly Los Angeles fires.

Finally, we won fifth place in our division for “coverage of local government” for our stories about how the former Kern County Water Agency board president, Eric Averett, became the agency’s general manager, with a $525,000 annual salary (plus perks), after the previous manager was let go.

The sequence of events that led up to Averett’s transition, plus initial confusion over whether he would stay on in some capacity with his previous employer, prompted many questions about whether the move created a conflict of interest.

SJV Water was there to explain all the ins and outs for tax payers and water districts who fund this public agency.

You can read SJV Water’s coverage of this issue here: • Kern County Water Agency manager fired • Powerful Kern water agency hires former board president as manager at eye-popping salary • New manager of powerful Kern water agency won’t have “second job” • Questions arise about whether former board president can legally serve as manager of Kern water agency

SJV Water is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering water issues in the San Joaquin Valley. It was founded in 2019 by Editor/CEO Lois Henry