As part of the utility’s efforts to support customers in its smaller, water-stressed, and disadvantaged or higher-cost service areas during the drought, California Water Service (Cal Water) has secured nearly $2.4 million in grants from the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) to complete three important water supply reliability projects. Through DWR’s Small Community Drought Relief Program, Cal Water will be able to construct facilities in its Kernville, Coast Springs, and Tulco water systems to maintain safe, reliable water service while minimizing any impact to customers’ water bills.
Cal Water’s Tulco system, part of the utility’s Visalia District, serves 180 residential service connections in Tulare County. The system is currently 100-percent dependent on the pumping capacity of a single well to meet customer demand. With groundwater levels declining, the Tulco system will receive $894,000 to construct a 122,400-gallon, above-ground water storage tank and two booster pumps to add a combined pumping capacity of 1,000 gallons per minute, increase the system’s reliability, and improve fire protection.
The Kernville system, part of Cal Water’s Kern River Valley District, will receive $1.45 million to construct a new raw water intake facility at the Kern River in order to reliably provide surface water to the Kernville Surface Water Treatment Plant. The intake is the primary source of supply for the Kernville system and a major source for the district’s neighboring Arden and Mountain Shadows systems. Combined, these systems serve 2,050 customer connections. The existing intake system is operating significantly below full capacity due to declining water levels in the Kern River. The project, which will replace the existing intake, will include an in-channel concrete intake structure, a self-cleaning cone screen, and two submersible, vertical turbine pumps in the river.
Cal Water’s Coast Springs system, which serves Dillon Beach in its Redwood Valley District, includes 253 connections and relies on hauled water supplies to meet peak demand. The system is receiving $19,500 to complete a filter installation project that will add two membrane filters to the existing water treatment plant, increase reliability, and reduce the dependency on hauling in water. This will also enable Cal Water to bring a 225,000-gallon finished water storage tank back online to help enhance emergency supplies.
“Not only is Cal Water committed to providing a reliable supply of safe, clean water to our communities, we are dedicated to keeping customers’ water bills affordable,” said Marty Kropelnicki, Cal Water President and CEO. “The grants provided by DWR will enable us to construct these important water supply reliability projects with minimal impact to customers’ rates, while ensuring residents have the water they need, both during this drought and for decades to come.”
