With the drought, Gov. Newsom must work faster to help San Joaquin Valley water systems

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 76.5% of Fresno County is currently in a severe drought. Another 39% of the county — namely, the foothill and mountain areas — is classified as being in extreme drought. And the likely long and hot summer has not yet even arrived.

Tulare County is in even worse shape: 94.5% of the county is already in extreme drought. Madera and Kings counties are “just” in severe droughts.

Now imagine a home in any of these counties with water from a well that is polluted, or that well has stopped working due to overpumping.

That is the situation for thousands of central San Joaquin Valley residents who live in isolated communities that don’t have advanced water systems like cities. In many of these towns, there are only one or two wells that hundreds of people rely on. When the well fails or gets contaminated, there is no more water.

The problem of not having abundant, clean water in these rural communities has existed for decades, so the issue is known to state and county officials. But the troubles became acute in the last drought when more than 2,000 wells throughout the Valley dried up and residents were reduced to using bottled water or trucked-in supplies for not just drinking, but cooking, cleaning, and keeping toilets functional, too.

Now, as the drought of 2021 takes hold, state officials say they are better prepared to help those in need. They learned from the last drought which communities are most susceptible, have better data to guide decisions and are ready to respond more quickly with emergency aid.

“But we don’t yet have the long-term solutions in place for these communities,” Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, told the opinion editors of McClatchy’s California newspapers, including The Bee.

Water well problems

One of the places with acute problems is Tombstone Territory, a four-block community of about 350 people just outside of Sanger. The median household income for the area is $27,400, less than half the state average.

Tombstone residents rely on private wells that pump groundwater. Many wells are contaminated by bacteria, nitrates or long-lasting residue from pesticides.

The ultimate solution is to hook up Tombstone’s homes to Sanger’s water system. But that process has been long and complicated and has spanned years. Now, the final hurdle is at hand. Sanger officials just got a funding agreement from the state, and if they agree to it, design work can begin.

The best case for when Sanger water is flowing into Tombstone homes? A year from now.

Drought resilience

“The idea that we’re living in a state with a million people who don’t have access to clean, safe and affordable drinking water is a disgrace. This is the wealthiest state. This is the wealthiest democracy in the world, and it’s happened on our watch. We own this. Those who want to criticize us are right. We’ve been neglectful, and it’s outrageous.”

So said Gov. Gavin Newsom in July 2019 in Tombstone Territory. It was there he signed Senate Bill 200, which created the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, which is $1.4 billion over 10 years and a program to tackle the state’s drinking water crisis.

When the SAFER program began, 300 community water systems statewide were out of compliance with state drinking water standards, and more than 80 were in the central San Joaquin Valley. As of last fall, about 250 communities had been allocated funding from the state and were progressing toward solutions.

That said, the emergency steps used last year when wells ran dry remain the measures that will be in place this summer, namely, hauling bottled water or setting up water tanks in yards for periodic filling, said Joaquin Esquivel, chairman of the state Water Resources Control Board.

The real goal needs to be getting communities like Fairmead in Madera County, Lanare and Tombstone Territory in Fresno County, and East Orosi in Tulare County into situations where water systems not only deliver clean supplies, but are resilient enough to handle the next drought.

With all the challenges the state has, making sure Californians have sufficient clean water is basic. Third-world conditions in the richest state in America must not be tolerated.

President Biden’s $2 trillion plan to rebuild infrastructure is a big pot of money to help the state ensure safe water for all. Newsom and state lawmakers can’t lose sight of this need. The drought won’t let them.