20201021-bc-henrycol (copy)

The Kern River is dry at the Weir Water Control near Riverview Park in this October 2020 file photo.

Kern County lawmakers joined local farmers Wednesday in calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a drought emergency that would trigger new flexibility in how California's limited water supply is moved around the state.

Two weeks after Sacramento announced the third-tightest allocations in the history of the State Water Project, three local legislators joined five other members of the state Legislature in warning Newsom that reduced deliveries will weaken California's food supply and endanger underserved rural communities.