Kern County, California — public water systems

At a glance

327 active public water systems are filed under Kern County, California in EPA's SDWIS records, together reporting 1,026,649 people served. The largest is Cws - Bakersfield, which reports serving 267,881 people. 167 are community water systems serving people where they live; the other 160 are non-community systems, such as schools, workplaces, campgrounds and gas stations with their own supply.

Dataset updated October 2026 . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO, refreshed quarterly.

Active systems

327

Population served

Community systems

167

Groundwater share

92.7%

How does Kern County compare with other California counties?

Kern County has the 3rd-most active public water systems among the 201 counties listed for active California systems in EPA records; among the 72 with 3 or more systems, the median has 73. Its systems report 1,026,649 people served in total, the 11th-largest county figure in the state and 2.4% of the statewide total. The average system here reports serving 3,140 people, about 45% below the California average of 5,706. Population figures are what each system reports; people served by more than one system, such as a wholesaler and the town that buys from it, are counted by each.

Where does Kern County's drinking water come from?

By primary water source, Kern County's active systems draw on groundwater (294, 90%), purchased surface water (14, 4.3%), surface water (10, 3.1%) and purchased groundwater (8, 2.4%). Overall, 93% rely mainly on groundwater (including purchased groundwater) and 7.3% on surface water, compared with 85% and 15% across California. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. The county's largest system, Cws - Bakersfield, draws primarily on surface water.

What kinds of water systems operate in Kern County?

Kern County's active systems break down as 167 community systems (51%), 79 non-transient non-community systems (24%) and 81 transient non-community systems (25%). A community water system serves at least 15 connections used by year-round residents, or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents. Homes, apartments and mobile-home parks are served by these. A non-transient non-community water system regularly serves at least 25 of the same people for more than six months a year, but not where they live. Schools, factories, office buildings and hospitals with their own supply are typical examples. A transient non-community water system serves places where people do not stay long, such as gas stations and campgrounds, and regularly serves at least 25 people a day for at least 60 days a year. EPA lists their owner types as private (80%), local government (15%), state government (2.4%) and federal government (2.1%).

The 50 largest water systems in Kern County

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Active public water systems in Kern County, California
#	Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
1	Cws - Bakersfield	Kern	267,881	Community	Surface water
2	Bakersfield, City of	Kern	160,144	Community	Purchased surface water
3	Delano, City of	Kern	51,428	Community	Groundwater
4	Oildale Mwc	Kern	44,899	Community	Purchased surface water
5	Indian Wells Valley W.D.	Kern	41,580	Community	Groundwater
6	Tejon Castac Wd - I5 & Laval Rd	Kern	38,125	Community	Surface water
7	Vaughn Wc Inc.	Kern	37,189	Community	Groundwater
8	East Niles Csd	Kern	32,517	Community	Purchased surface water
9	Cws - North Garden	Kern	22,762	Community	Surface water
10	Wasco, City of	Kern	22,757	Community	Groundwater
11	Shafter, City of	Kern	21,915	Community	Groundwater
12	West Kern Water District	Kern	20,500	Community	Groundwater
13	Arvin Community Services Dist	Kern	19,669	Community	Groundwater
14	Lamont Public Utility Dist	Kern	19,057	Community	Groundwater
15	Rosamond Csd	Kern	17,711	Community	Purchased surface water
16	California City, City of	Kern	14,198	Community	Purchased surface water
17	Mcfarland, City of	Kern	14,161	Community	Groundwater
18	Greenfield County Wd	Kern	11,590	Community	Groundwater
19	Edwards Afb - Main Base	Kern	11,316	Community	Purchased surface water
20	Golden Hills Csd	Kern	9,857	Community	Groundwater
21	Tehachapi, City of	Kern	9,094	Community	Groundwater
22	China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station	Kern	6,600	Community	Groundwater
23	Bear Valley Csd	Kern	5,592	Community	Groundwater
24	Wasco St. Prison Reception Ctr	Kern	5,124	Community	Groundwater
25	Willow Springs Raceway	Kern	5,022	Transient non-community	Groundwater
26	Famoso Raceway, Smokers Inc..	Kern	5,000	Transient non-community	Groundwater
27	Kern Valley State Prison	Kern	5,000	Community	Groundwater
28	Stallion Springs Csd	Kern	4,910	Community	Groundwater
29	Mojave PUD	Kern	4,699	Community	Purchased surface water
30	Caltrans-Boron Rest Stop Water System	Kern	3,000	Transient non-community	Groundwater
31	Cci - Tehachapi	Kern	2,993	Community	Groundwater
32	Lerdo Sheriff S Facility	Kern	2,800	Community	Groundwater
33	Frazier Park PUD	Kern	2,592	Community	Groundwater
34	Cws - Kernville	Kern	2,572	Community	Surface water
35	Kern Valley Airport	Kern	2,507	Transient non-community	Groundwater
36	Erskine Creek Wc	Kern	2,500	Community	Groundwater
37	Lost Hills Utility District	Kern	2,370	Community	Groundwater
38	Tejon Ranch Grapevine Water	Kern	2,207	Non-transient non-community	Groundwater
39	Mil Potrero Mwc	Kern	2,200	Community	Groundwater
40	Interstate 5 Utility Company	Kern	2,100	Non-transient non-community	Groundwater
41	Boron Csd	Kern	2,086	Community	Purchased surface water
42	Buttonwillow Tiger Mart	Kern	2,006	Transient non-community	Groundwater
43	Bolthouse Fresh Foods	Kern	1,917	Non-transient non-community	Groundwater
44	Wp&A - Lost Hills Water System	Kern	1,888	Non-transient non-community	Surface water
45	Buttonwillow Cwd	Kern	1,508	Community	Groundwater
46	Cal Trans Buttonwillow Sfty Rsra	Kern	1,500	Transient non-community	Groundwater
47	Aera Energy-LLC	Kern	1,500	Non-transient non-community	Groundwater
48	Lebec County Water District	Kern	1,379	Community	Groundwater
49	Rio Bravo Greeley School Water System	Kern	1,219	Non-transient non-community	Groundwater
50	Grimmway Enterprises-Malaga Water System	Kern	1,200	Non-transient non-community	Groundwater

All other water systems in Kern County (275)

The remaining active systems filed under Kern County, largest first, with the population each reports serving.

Kern County water systems: frequently asked questions

How many public water systems are in Kern County, California?

EPA's SDWIS records file 327 active public water systems under Kern County, California: 167 community systems (51%), 79 non-transient non-community systems (24%) and 81 transient non-community systems (25%).

Who supplies drinking water in Kern County, CA?

The largest community water systems filed under Kern County are Cws - Bakersfield (267,881 people served), City of Bakersfield (160,144 people served) and City of Delano (51,428 people served). Which system serves a particular address depends on its service area, which EPA's SDWIS records do not include; a water bill or the local utility can confirm it.

Does Kern County's drinking water come from groundwater or surface water?

Of the 327 active public water systems in Kern County, 93% draw mainly on groundwater and 7.3% on surface water, counting purchased supplies. The largest system, Cws - Bakersfield, uses surface water.

Where can I find a water quality report for Kern County?

Each community water system must deliver an annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, to its customers by July 1, covering the previous calendar year. 167 community systems are filed under Kern County, so the report to look for is the one from the system that supplies your address.

How can I check violations for a water system in Kern County?

Open the system's profile from the list on this page. Each profile shows the most recent Safe Drinking Water Act violations in EPA's records, with plain-English labels and whether each one is resolved. For current compliance status, EPA ECHO is the primary source.

More California water systems

About this data

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.

Cite as: AquaCensus, “Public water systems in Kern County, California”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/california/kern (data as of October 1, 2026).