First their wells went dry. Then this summer’s brutal heat wave made water in emergency storage tanks so scalding hot, some valley residents had to siphon it into containers and let it cool before it could be used.
“We’re very grateful to even have the tanks,” stressed Merideth Moreno, who lives near the small Tulare County community of Orosi. “But it [heated water] is one of the things that we have found to be trouble.”
The well that served Moreno’s home and her 80-year-old father’s home went dry two years ago. They’ve survived ever since on water from two storage tanks paid for by the state and refilled every two weeks by the Visalia-based nonprofit Self-Help Enterprises. That water is just for household use, not drinking. The state also pays for bottled water, delivered by Self-Help.
The Morenos are not alone. Self-Help has 1,244 storage tanks currently deployed in the valley. It deployed 50 new tanks this summer to families whose wells went dry.
This record-breaking summer made relying on water from those tanks especially difficult.
June saw 10 days at 100 degrees or higher. Then July dished out a whopping 24 days over 100 – 19 of those over 105 degrees. August had 12 days at or above 100, according to numbers from the Hanford office of the National Weather Service.
The dark gray 2,500-gallon tanks soaked in all that heat, making stored water so hot that just handling it caused Moreno’s dad’s skin to itch, stripping away the natural oils, Moreno said.
“Yes, the tanks are heating up – another effect of climate change and another important area of how severe our valley’s water crisis is,” a Self-Help spokesperson wrote in an email.
Self-Help is working closely with the state Water Resources Control Board to find a solution and is planning to try wrapping the tanks in insulation sheets.
Staff at the Water Board, “recognize the hardship of contending with water heated to this degree for residential purposes and we are continuing to work with Self Help Enterprises to resolve the issue,” a Water Board spokesperson wrote in an email.
Other advocacy groups point to the need for greater state funding for climate resiliency in communities such as Orosi.
Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, and protecting communities and natural lands from climate risks, will be on the ballot in November. Advocates from organizations such as Community Water Center, which works with residents in Orosi and other rural communities in the valley, say the heated water tanks and other issues are reasons why Proposition 4 is urgently needed.
“This highlights the need for long term solutions as soon as possible given that temporary solutions are not viable in the long run with issues like these,” wrote Maraid Jimenez, communications associate for Community Water Center, in an email.
If approved, 40% of the bond’s funds would go to low income, climate vulnerable communities.
A recent visit by Governor Gavin Newsom to the community of East Orosi gave Moreno some hope that the state recognizes the severity of water problems in rural San Joaquin Communities. Newsom was in East Orosi Tuesday to sign legislation focused on that community’s long-running water and sewer problems.
“We’re counting on the state to help us out,” said Moreno.
The heated water was an added stressor for Moreno’s family this summer. But sometimes they run out altogether. For Moreno’s father, those times are especially hard because he grows all his own food in his gardens.
Moreno may have the option to get a new well drilled by Self-Help. But it’s not the solution she thinks is best because even new wells can still go dry or end up being contaminated. Moreno wants to be hooked up to the City of Orosi’s water system.
Nearby East Orosi is in the process of consolidating into Orosi’s system. Moreno wants the same for herself and others in her community on tanks and wells.
“That’s probably our last chance in our lifetime,” said Moreno. “I can’t think of anything that’s going to make a difference.”
