Self-Help Enterprises has launched a partnership with three groundwater sustainability agencies in the Kaweah Subbasin to expand assistance for rural residents who lose water due to lowering groundwater levels.
The East Kaweah, Greater Kaweah and Mid-Kaweah groundwater sustainability agencies will invest up to $5.8 million annually to ensure that water users in the area will receive emergency water supplies if their wells go dry.
The big picture: Along with the emergency water supplies, Self-Help Enterprises will also provide a long-term drinking water solution through its water support program.
- Self-Help Enterprises has over a decade of experience operating its water support program to provide emergency water supply, interim supply – which includes tanks and hauled water – and long-term solutions, such as working with well drillers to replace failed wells.
- The three groundwater sustainability agencies adopted the new mitigation program at a joint board meeting on Thursday.
- The mitigation program ensures that water users in the Kaweah Subbasin would receive emergency bottled water within 24 hours and tank installation and enrollment in a hauled water program within 72 hours.
What they’re saying: The sustainability agencies said in a joint statement that Self-Help Enterprises has the right experiences to administer the new mitigation program.
- “The GSAs are focused on achieving groundwater sustainability in a broader sense,” they said. “By partnering with SHE, who are based out of Visalia in the heart of the Kaweah Subbasin, we can be more successful at helping residents who face these issues.”
- Tammi McVay, program director at Self-Help Enterprises, said, “We are excited about what this new partnership means as far as helping SHE continue to further its mission to build and sustain healthy homes and communities. Losing water is a stressful life event. Our staff are ready and able to work with even more Valley residents to address their water needs.”
