Some of the worst drinking water problems in the county are in the north in a number of small “disadvantaged” communities like Cutler,Orosi, East Orosi, Sultana, Seville and Monson. Water with high nitrates and DBCP contamination,probably most from agricultural applications – has forced schools and communities to buy bottled water. The extent of the problem has caught the attention of the national media in the past few months including a November NY Times story that recounts that at one time Tulare County identified 15 “non-viable” communities in the 1970s based on a prediction that mechanical harvesters would soon replace the farm workers who lived in places without public water and sewer services and the best solution was for folks to move.
But instead of waiting for these towns to disband or help provide a solution one by one -there is now some new optimism over a regional approach to deliver clean water though farm water purveyor Alta Irrigation District with Tulare County as the lead agency.
Making this possible Alta district, based in Dinuba, has built two new water recharge basins near Traver that have captured storm water to add to their annual supply says Alta manager Chris Kapheim. Because of the new supply the district has budgeted stored water behind Pine Flat Dam to provide a surface water supply for the potential project.One idea is to transfer the water along the Friant Kern canal to a site for new regional water treatment plant perhaps near East Orosi where the canal runs, says water engineer Dennis Keller who is helping on the project and sits on the county Water Commission.
Kapheim notes that over the years Alta’s role” has evolved to one with a better understanding and ability to address local water quality issues and implement regional solutions” to manage the scarce water supply. The idea could be a win-win for agriculture and the farm worker communities of the Alta district.
An additional benefit of delivering surface water to those communities will be the reduction in groundwater pumping in the Cutler-Orosi area of the District, thereby reducing the stress on the existing aquifer.
In 2007, Alta Irrigation District, Cutler Public Utilities District, and Orosi Public Utilities District signed an MOU to jointly fund a $75,000 water supply study to evaluate water quality and to recommend options for providing potable water in the Cutler-Orosi area.
With the help of the county, this CDPH feasibility study is in a phase 2 stage to study if the regional water project could also provide good drinking water for Monson,Yettem and Seville suffering the same bad ground water problem.
Alta’s Kapheim says by using a regional solution, the District is able to address multiple solutions in different areas, i.e., storm water utilization enhanced recharge in Traver and reduced groundwater pumping through the use of surface water for drinking water in the Cutler-Orosi area – now other nearby towns as well.
Studies have found that separate solutions for each community that treat groundwater are too expensive.The latest study underway will gauge the cost of a joint water project project and how they could be connected. Surface water would be blended with groundwater to meet standards. Eventually, there would be a Prop 218 vote by the communities. Recently Seville and Yettem were added to the feasibility study to completed by mid-2014.
One estimate puts the capital cost at $17 million.
In this region nitrates have closed wells in many of these systems over the past few years as contamination levels continue to rise in existing wells. Cutler PUD has had to close numerous wells due to nitrate contamination and now relies on a well with DBCP over legal limits says East Orosi’s two wells are closed due to nitrates, notes advocate group Community Water Center.
A UC Davis study has suggested most of problem is due to leaching of farm fertilizer and chemicals. Now,Alta ID, a a farm-based water suppler, has decided it is their role to do more than irrigate farmland,but help manage a solution to tainted groundwater.
For Tulare County a potential long term solution will help these communities to grow economically, attract business instead of just waiting for the next delivery from the water truck.