Buena Vista Water Storage District

What Buena Vista Water Storage District does

Buena Vista Water Storage District (BVWSD) is a California special district and municipal corporation organized in July 1924 to manage the irrigation, drainage systems, and water rights originally held by Henry Miller and Charles Lux of the Lux Land Company. It serves landowners and water users within its boundaries in Buttonwillow, Kern County, controlling an average entitlement of approximately 150,000 acre-feet per year of surface water from the Kern River and approximately 21,300 acre-feet per year from the State Water Project. The District is governed by an elected Board of Directors and operates with a small staff of 11–50 employees led by an Engineer-Manager, Assistant Engineer-Manager, Controller, Superintendent, and supporting technical and administrative roles.

BVWSD's core operational technology is a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system with telemetry, measuring, and programming equipment that enables remote monitoring and control of water-delivery parameters across key infrastructure including the Kern River Canal, Goose Lake Canal, Cell 2R & Maples, and Lake Webb. Complementing this is an online GIS map, a web-based water-ordering portal (bvwsd.waterui.com), and SGMA compliance documentation hosted on its public website. The District's infrastructure footprint includes the James Groundwater Storage and Recovery Project — 1,800 acres of shallow recharge ponds, 14 groundwater wells, and conveyance facilities capable of 50,000 acre-feet per year of recovery and an estimated 250,000 acre-feet per year of recharge in wet years — as well as the Northern Area Pipeline Project and the Water Use and Irrigation Efficiency Program funded by a 2011 Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART grant.

As a governmental special district, BVWSD does not pursue commercial revenue but is funded through landowner assessments, water tolls/charges, and grants; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Its customers are exclusively the landowners and water users within its service area, and its go-to-market is direct, infrastructure-based water delivery supplemented by public board meetings (held the third Wednesday of each month) and a website-based information portal. Its strategic posture is shaped heavily by California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, with the District operating as part of the Buena Vista Groundwater Sustainability Agency and publishing a 2025 Draft GSP alongside Kern Subbasin coordination agreements.

Name

Buena Vista Water Storage District

Legal name

Buena Vista Water Storage District

Website

https://bvh2o.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Buena Vista Water Storage District is a California special district, founded in 1924, that delivers irrigation water, manages drainage, and administers water rights for landowners within its Kern County boundaries, holding Kern River and State Water Project entitlements totaling roughly 171,300 acre-feet per year.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) & Recovery Utilities (ASR/ASTR) (EUANAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE)

Keywords

• Irrigation water delivery
• Groundwater storage recovery
• Water rights management
• Agricultural water supply
• Drainage system management

Headquarters

HQ city

Buttonwillow

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Buena Vista Water Storage District is a California special district that manages irrigation, drainage systems, and water rights for landowners and water users within its Kern County boundaries. It controls surface water entitlements of approximately 150,000 acre-feet per year from the Kern River and 21,300 acre-feet per year from the State Water Project, delivering water through district canals, pipelines, and groundwater recharge infrastructure. The district operates a SCADA system for real-time telemetry and remote monitoring of water delivery, plus online ordering, GIS mapping, and groundwater storage and recovery services.

Product overview

Buena Vista Water Storage District operates as a water management organization providing water delivery, groundwater management, and infrastructure services. The District controls water entitlements from the Kern River (approximately 150,000 AF/yr) and State Water Project (approximately 21,300 AF/yr). The core technology offering is the SCADA system for remote monitoring and control of water delivery parameters. Additional services include water ordering platforms, GIS mapping, groundwater recharge and recovery projects (including the James Groundwater Storage Project with capacity for 50,000 acre-feet per year recovery and 250,000 acre-feet per year recharge), irrigation efficiency programs, and SGMA compliance coordination. The District's operations span multiple infrastructure projects including pipelines, recharge ponds, and well systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SCADA Water Delivery Monitoring System Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system that allows the district to remotely monitor and control water delivery system parameters through telemetry, measuring, and programming equipment installed at key locations. Provides real-time flow monitoring at multiple sites including Kern River Canal, Goose Lake, Cell 2R & Maples, and Lake Webb elevation measurements for district operations.
• Online Water Ordering Service Online water ordering platform that allows landowners and water users within the district to order irrigation water through the district's website at bvwsd.waterui.com.
• James Groundwater Storage and Recovery Project Groundwater storage and recovery service involving 1,800 acres of shallow recharge ponds, water conveyance facilities, and 14 groundwater wells. Provides maximum water recovery capacity of 50,000 acre-feet per year during times of need, with estimated recharge capacity of 250,000 acre-feet per year during wet years.
• SGMA Compliance Coordination Services Coordination, monitoring, and water budgeting services for compliance with California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Includes groundwater elevation monitoring, extraction tracking, surface water supply coordination, total water use reporting, and sustainable yield management for the Buena Vista Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
• Northern Area Pipeline Project Pipeline infrastructure project providing water delivery service to the northern area of the district, expanding district conveyance capacity.
• Water District GIS Mapping Service Online GIS map providing geographic visualization of the water district's service area, infrastructure, and land boundaries for landowners and water users.
• Water Use and Irrigation Efficiency Program Program providing irrigation system delivery improvements and on-farm irrigation efficiency upgrades to district growers, supported by a $2 million Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART 2011 grant and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service cost-share funding of up to 50% for eligible on-farm projects.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District: Kern County water storage district providing irrigation water supply and groundwater banking services to a similar landowner customer base.
• Arvin-Edison Water Storage District: Adjacent Kern County irrigation and water storage district with comparable surface water entitlements, groundwater banking, and grower water-delivery model.
• Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District: Nearby Kern Subbasin water storage district operating groundwater banking and irrigation delivery infrastructure directly comparable to BVWSD's mandate.
• Semitropic Water Storage District: Neighboring Kern County water storage district operating a major groundwater banking and recovery program with similar recharge/recovery economics to BVWSD's James project.
• Kern Water Bank Authority: Groundwater storage and recovery operator in the Kern Subbasin; competes for recharge/recovery water and partners with regional districts on banking transactions.

Broad incumbents

• Westlands Water District: Large California irrigation district and CVP contractor with overlapping surface water and groundwater banking activities, serving as a broader incumbent in the same regulatory and operational space.
• California Water Service Company: Largest investor-owned water utility in California, providing a comparable but much broader regulated water-delivery model, including agricultural customers in the Central Valley.
• American Water Works Company: Largest U.S. investor-owned water and wastewater utility; provides a benchmark for regulated water-asset valuation, SCADA operations, and rate-base economics across multiple states.
• Kern County Water Agency: Contractor for the State Water Project serving Kern County; overlaps with BVWSD on State Water Project entitlement administration and regional water planning.
• Aqua America / Essential Utilities: Multi-state regulated water and natural gas utility; comparable as a broader incumbent in U.S. water utility operations, rate-base management, and infrastructure reinvestment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Buena Vista Water Storage District