Kern River Rafting Company Cancels Season Because of Drought

Media Contact: Matt Volpert 1­760­376­3370 [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Kern River Rafting Company Cancels Season Because of Drought KERNVILLE, CALIFORNIA. ­ March 24, 2015 – Kern River Outfitters, a rafting company that operates in Southern California, has announced that they will not be operating this season due to the drought. “The California drought has reduced projected Kern River flows to a level that is inadequate to run the top­quality rafting trips our guests expect, “ said Matt Volpert, General Manager of Kern River Outfitters. Their decision was based on the projected runoff data compiled from the agencies below. Department of Water Resources:​
​
B120 Report.​
This report which is issued in February, March, April and May provides local snowpack reports as well as runoff projections. Department of Water Resources: ​
Snow Water Equivalent digital readings. ​
This map is a summary of digital readings that upload once a week. Department of Water Resources: ​
California Snow Water Content year to year comparative graph.​
This graph plots the current year snowpack and can be compared to most years going back to 1976. “It was a tough call, but absolutely the right one to make,” Volpert commented. “With reports ranging from 10% to mid­20% of normal snowpack, at best we were looking at a situation that was slightly worse than last season.” Last season the Upper Kern river peaked at 650 cubic feet per second, which according to Volpert is “very much on the low end” for that section of river. 2015 river rafters are encouraged to look towards Kern River Outfitters’ sister companies which operate in Idaho and Oregon, where they will have a normal season extending into September. For information about rafting the Kern River, contact Matt Volpert at 1­760­376­3370 or visit, www.KernRafting.com​
. For information about their Idaho or Oregon companies, visit www.IdahoRiverJourneys.com​
and ​
www.RogueRiverTrips.com​
.
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