Councilman Scott Hayman gives a report on the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority on October 15, 2025.

The video is timestamped to begin at 27:43.

October 15, 2025

Ridgecrest, California

“Authority is not to be questioned; it is to be respected.” – Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Respect the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority? Have you gone Cuckoo? Question everything you hear from the City of Ridgecrest or the Groundwater Authority, especially if you read it on Facebook.

The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority and the City of Ridgecrest have a few problems that they don’t want to talk about on Facebook or in city council meetings. They’re losing the great Indian Wells Valley Water War.

Kern County Supervisor Phillip Peters is right to predict the death of SGMA, but for the wrong reasons. At the very least, the IWV Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) is in critical condition, on a ventilator and a heavy dose of a drug I won’t mention by name.

It’s safe to say you can put a fork in the IWV’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan.

The Bad News

The residents of Ridgecrest have been paying for a new Wastewater Treatment facility for over 10 years. It hasn’t been built, and the “recycled water project” that was a part of the GSP has been scrapped.

The residents of Ridgecrest and customers of the water district have been paying “GA Fees” totaling over $17 million dollars to buy water rights from the San Joaquin Valley. None of that water has been purchased. That’s actually the only good news for the GA.

The audit of the GA’s 2024 financial statement is long overdue.

The engineering design of the pipeline and the Environmental Assessment costs have run over budget, and the GA is running out of the startup money that the Department of Water Resources provided in the form of a $7,000,000 grant 5 years ago.

The AVEK pipeline that the GA plans to build has been delayed due to an incomplete Environmental Assessment application with the BLM. The GA can’t tell you what it will all cost to build and maintain until all the design and environmental work is finished.

The city and the GA are desperately trying to avoid adjudication of the Recharge and Groundwater in Storage in the basin.

I won’t take the time to itemize the total complete failure of County attorney Phill Hall’s and City Attorney Keith Lemieux’s “legal strategy” and the embarrassment and loss of trust resulting from the actions of Supervisor Phillip Peters, City Manager Ron Strand, City Clerk Ricca Charlon, Councilman Scott Hayman and Councilman Kyle Blades. I would only ask Councilman Blades, are you “feeling pretty good” about all of this now?

The GA illegally assigned Navy’s federally reserved water rights to the water district that did not exist, and now the entire Groundwater Sustainability Plan has effectively been blown up.

It’s dead and the judge will have to sort it out.

The Good News!

The good news for the residents of Ridgecrest and the IWV, Inyokern and Trona is this: The IWV groundwater basin will be properly and legally adjudicated.

The water district has filed a “Reverse Validation Action” which means that they will be able to go to the judge with their science and model, and the GA will be able to defend their science and model, and the best science will win.

Finally, the IWV water district will be merging with the Inyokern Community Services District by order of the State Water Board. This is great news for Inyokern because the IWV Water District is financially solid, the state will assist in funding the merger and the water district is an award-winning water agency. They will do a great job for the people of Inyokern.

I won’t predict the future, but it appears that the Inyokern merger will make the IWV Water District the water manager for the entire Indian Wells Valley.

In Conclusion

The Ridgecrest City Council should jump at the opportunity to resolve any conflicts with the water district at their earliest opportunity. The redevelopment of Inyokern’s water system will stimulate economic opportunities for the entire Indian Wells Valley including the City of Ridgecrest.

Finally, you won’t need to build an infeasible $400 million pipeline to import water from the San Joaquin Valley.