Despite little support from Sacramento, Kettleman City will not run dry in 2022.
On Tuesday, the Kings County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a deal with the Mojave Water Agency to purchase enough water to serve the impoverished community’s needs this year.
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The deal will cost Kings County $329,000 for 235 acre-feet of water, which comes in at a rate of $1,400 per acre-foot.
The Kettleman City Community Services District reserve fund will foot the bill for the payment, but the water district is exploring state and federal grants to cover the cost.
“That just shows how messed up our government agencies are when the desert has all the water and we need it to keep our people alive,” Supervisor Doug Verboon said.
In response, Supervisor Doug Pedersen fired shots at state water leaders for dumping a considerable amount of water into the Pacific Ocean in December.
“We have water,” Pedersen said. “We’re just dumping it into the ocean.”
Along with an allocation of 96 acre-feet of water from the Department of Water Resources, Tuesday’s deal means that Kettleman City will have the 331 acre-feet it needs for all residential and commercial users.
