An innovative project would see seven Tulare County towns plagued by polluted wells sharing a water treatment plant, but political infighting stalled the proposal days before a funding deadline.
The river water is available, and the state is willing to help build the treatment plant for the 17,000 people in these towns.
A regional water treatment system shared among several rural towns would be a first for the San Joaquin Valley, but it is threatened by self-inflicted delays and local political slowdowns, including one that last month stalled the estimated $30 million treatment plant.
But we’re not giving up.” River water instead of groundwater is perhaps the most elegant long-term solution to the chronic contamination of drinking-water wells in this farm belt.
Around the San Joaquin Valley, many rural communities with contaminated or dried-up wells are connecting with bigger cities.
The northern Tulare County towns aren’t close enough to connect with big cities, such as Visalia, which has a population of about 130,000.
Cutler and Orosi have 80 percent of the 17,000 residents who would be served.
He says Cutler has been working on the water treatment concept since 2004.
“This is something the community needs,” he says.
The state publicly agreed, but then quietly balked again, citing a funding technicality: The funding would not be high priority because the lead applicant, Orosi, had a water supply that was not currently out of compliance with standards.

An innovative project would see seven Tulare County towns plagued by polluted wells sharing a water treatment plant, but political infighting stalled the proposal days before a funding deadline.
The river water is available, and the state is willing to help build the treatment plant for the 17,000 people in these towns.
A regional water treatment system shared among several rural towns would be a first for the San Joaquin Valley, but it is threatened by self-inflicted delays and local political slowdowns, including one that last month stalled the estimated $30 million treatment plant.
But we’re not giving up.” River water instead of groundwater is perhaps the most elegant long-term solution to the chronic contamination of drinking-water wells in this farm belt.
Around the San Joaquin Valley, many rural communities with contaminated or dried-up wells are connecting with bigger cities.
The northern Tulare County towns aren’t close enough to connect with big cities, such as Visalia, which has a population of about 130,000.
Cutler and Orosi have 80 percent of the 17,000 residents who would be served.
He says Cutler has been working on the water treatment concept since 2004.
“This is something the community needs,” he says.
The state publicly agreed, but then quietly balked again, citing a funding technicality: The funding would not be high priority because the lead applicant, Orosi, had a water supply that was not currently out of compliance with standards.

– Norma Garcia “The problem is that those people that live outside of the city and have their own well are usually the ones that have no idea what’s in their drinking water,” says Abigail Solis, a community development specialist with the Visalia non-profit Self-Help Enterprises.
Solis says many families think they can just boil water to get rid of the nitrates.
That’s why Solis and Self-Help started a program to offer free testing for nitrates.
"I think it’s always a good idea to know what you’re drinking, especially if you have children in the home."
– Nilsa Gonzalez, Tulare County “I didn’t hesitate to take the offer because I had heard talk about water in the area being contaminated,” says Garcia.
“When I got the call I immediately stopped using the water,” says Garcia.
“A private well owner does not get a permit from our division of drinking water, and they’re not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” says Karkoski.
– Tammie Weyker, Tulare County Tulare County does offer testing services to private well owners.
Of the 48 women who’ve taken Self-Help kits home, only 18 have actually returned them for testing.
“A lot of families come in here and they trust the WIC office and they know that the WIC office provides nutrients for their families,” Solis says.

Drought conditions continue for thousands of rural residents in the San Joaquin valley who rely on groundwater.
The state is trying not to abandon people with dry wells.
Starting July 1, an additional year of free water will be delivered to massive tanks that were placed at many dwellings with dry wells, including the Rios’ home.
One year won’t be enough time to fix all the problems out there.
“And what will happen should any new homes run out of water during the next year?” asks Jenny Rempel, director of education and engagement for the nonprofit advocacy group Community Water Center.
“That’s not a good solution if you’ve been waiting for years already.” Herrera works with Tulare County residents, including those in Monson, where about 200 residents have never had access to a central water system – just private wells.
But Monson has been waiting since 2008 when contamination was found in private wells.
About 800 homes will be hooked up to water soon in East Porterville, where more than 7,000 people went dry a few years ago, Coyne says.
Even as millions of dollars are invested and the water comes back to many homes, residents know wells could go dry again if groundwater pumping ramps up.
A Sacramento Bee investigation found a record 2,500 wells were drilled in San Joaquin Valley in 2015 during the height of the drought.

Previously, Arroyo said he and his family would allow his home’s garden hose to run freely.
“I didn’t care.” More recently, Arroyo said he is more careful.
During the program’s first two weeks, Arroyo said he has learned a lot about water use and contamination in southwest Tulare County.
Arroyo is one of 13 students participating in the four-week program.
“We should help the community,” she said.
“I didn’t know about water quality.” Perez, who recently graduated from Alpaugh High School, said she is already using the knowledge she is picking up while participating in the program.
Hansen said the program is a good way for local students to become aware of water issues in the community they live in.
“Just because we are not a rich community, it doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to have clean water.” Felipe Florez, another student participating in the program, said he’s concern about the contaminants in the water he and his family use.
“I want to make changes.” Mathis shared the same message, asking the students to become active in community issues.
Water is everything.” Asked if the issue of contaminated water could be solved, Mathis said he sees things happening.

The California drought is officially over, but next could be ‘around the corner’.
“Conservation must remain a way of life.” The governor lifted the drought emergency in all California counties except Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Tuolumne, where emergency drinking water projects will continue to help address diminished groundwater supplies.
“There’s a greater appreciation of just how precious water is,” she said.
“We’ve got to plan for longer droughts.” Cities and water districts throughout the state will be required to continue reporting their water use each month, said the governor’s order, which also bans wasteful practices, such as hosing off sidewalks and running sprinklers when it rains.
The drought strained native fish that migrate up rivers, killed millions of trees, and forced farmers in the country’s leading agricultural state to rely heavily on groundwater, with some tearing out orchards.
Brown declared the drought emergency in 2014, and officials later ordered mandatory conservation for the first time in state history.
Regulators last year relaxed the rules after a rainfall was close to normal.
But monster storms this winter erased nearly all signs of drought, blanketing the Sierra Nevada with deep snow, California’s key water source, and boosting reservoirs.
Atkins said she still received calls from people whose wells were running dry and needed a tank and bottled water.
“In no way is it over,” she said of the drought.

Tulare County officials said last week the state has indicated it is cutting off its Disaster Assistance on June 30, just two months from now.
What that means is the county and non-profits will no longer be reimbursed for their efforts to deliver both bottled water and install and fill large water tanks at homes where the well went dry.
According to county officials, more than 400 residents of the county still rely on that large tank to supply their home with running water and most of those also rely on bottled water for drinking.
Gov.
Jerry Brown this month declared the drought over in California, with the exception of Tulare County and three other counties.
It has been estimated at one time the state was spending more than $600,000 a month on the water relief program just in Tulare County.
That promoted the state to come up with a permanent solution in East Porterville — the poster child of the drought in California because of the concentration of domestic wells which went dry there.
That effort is about 50 percent complete and nearly all of those who had lost their well, are now connected to the City of Porterville’s water system.
It has been estimated a new well cost about $27,000 and to keep filling the large tank is about $600 a month.
We agree the state must put an end to the relief effort at some point, but we would also like to see help for those who need to drill a new well in the form of low-interest loans or grants, and we’d encourage the state to consider stretching funding to help those areas where a permanent solution is in the works, but won’t be completed by June 30.

Supervisors to get drought update.
Tulare County, and more specifically East Porterville, became ground zero for the drought the past three years.
More than 1,200 residences across the county reported wells going dry, with a good chunk of those in East Porterville where hundreds of families were left without water.
Last week, Gov.
Jerry Brown declared the drought over in the Golden State, with the exception of Tulare County and three other counties where efforts are still underway to help people impacted by the drought.
Tuesday’s presentation during the regular board meeting of the supervisors is intended to provide direction as to whether to continue the county’s drought-relief efforts or to begin demobilization of the County’s California Disaster Assistance Act-funding activities, including the mobile showers, tank sites and Household Tank Program.
– Will look to establish an ad-hoc committee to evaluate a redesign of the Capitol Display for Tulare County inside the state capitol.
The board will meet at 9 a.m. in board chambers at 2800 W. Burrel Ave. in Visalia.

The Drought Is Over, Right?
Not in These 4 Counties.
Gov.
Jerry Brown recently lifted his emergency drought declaration for all of California except four counties: Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Tuolumne.
He says communities and water systems in these four counties were among the hardest-hit by the drought, and when wells went dry and people were left without water, the emergency declaration made possible state funding for relief efforts.
“We couldn’t do it without the state,” he says.
Since the emergency was announced in 2014, Coyne says, Tulare County has received more than $170 million in state and federal funds for ongoing relief projects.
Some are short-term measures like mobile showers, water tanks placed in people’s front yards and well deepening.
Others are permanent fixes.
He expects that will take another year or two.

Many people must still use water stored in large tanks in their yard to wash dishes and bathe.
The drought emergency remains in effect in Kings, Fresno, Tulare and Tuolumne counties, even after one of California’s wettest winters in years prompted officials to declare an end to the historic, five-year dry spell in nearly all of the nation’s most populous state.
"I wouldn’t drink it."
Miguel and his neighbor survive on the trucked-in water and deliveries of bottled drinking water.
In parts of the San Joaquin Valley, underground aquifers — layers of earth saturated by water — collapsed from over-pumping during years of dry weather, according to scientists at Stanford and NASA who studied satellite imagery to measure sinking land.
Emergency water tanks for residents have cost the state nearly $28 million since 2014, with more than half in Tulare County.
Randy Herman, a long-distance trucker with a family, says it’s obvious to him that his community is a long way from rebounding from drought.
After his well ran dry, he connected to a large water tank before finally hooking up to the community well.
"I don’t think the drought’s over.
In this photo taken April 10, 2017, is David Miguel at his home in the community of Hardwick in the San Joaquin Valley where drought has yet to loosen its grip on some residents near Hanford, Calif. State officials lifted the drought emergency for much California, but thousands of people like Miguel still live on water tanks because their wells ran dry.