Thousands of dead fish have been left behind in the waterbed where the Kern River sometimes flows through Bakersfield — not due to drought but to maintenance by the city water department that added to accusations of mismanagement. Those claims were brought to Superior Court in a 2022 lawsuit by multiple environmental advocacy organizations. In October, Bakersfield argued against the claims, asserting it is not solely responsible for the dewatering of the Kern River. The recent fish deaths were “a really tragic situation, both ecologically and for the community, and of course for the wildlife because the fish has nowhere to go,” freshwater ecologist Rae McNeish said.