Monday, August 17, 2015 |
Sacramento, CA
Having a homestead that operates independently from the complex infrastructure that serves as the backbone of a city can be a great source of pride. It's befitting of the American pioneer spirit to heat your home with wood you've cut with your bare hands and drink water you've pumped from the ground beneath your feet. But what happens when the water upon which you've built your home suddenly disappears? You aren't hooked up to the local water district. Your only options are wishing for rainwater to capture or shipping in bottles of water every week. Luckily, the California government has taken steps to help people who own wells that are no longer pumping water.
In the Sierra foothill county of Tuolumne, the local Office of Emergency Services is providing 2500 gallon tanks to people with dry wells. The tanks may run up against the pioneer spirit, but they're welcome assistance to more than 300 people in Tuolumne County whose wells have gone dry. Tracie Riggs a coordinator for the Tuolumne County OES and is in charge of the dry-well assistance program. She and the OES are holding currently holding workshops to reach out to well owners in her county who are running out of water. She joins us to talk about the program and the people it's helping.
