State Water Board appoints Tulare County as administrator for East Orosi water system
SACRAMENTO – In a step toward resolving chronic drinking water issues in the small rural community of East Orosi, the State Water Resources Control Board has appointed the Tulare County Resource Management Agency as the full-scope administrator for the East Orosi Community Services District, authorizing the county to oversee the drinking water system’s managerial, operational, and financial functions. The county’s oversight will help the water system prepare for its eventual consolidation with nearby Orosi Public Utility District so it can provide safe drinking water on a long-term basis.
In addition to appointing the administrator, the State Water Board’s Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program is providing East Orosi CSD with grants totaling $784,000 to fund administration costs and supplement the system’s revenues to support its operation and maintenance. The water system serves approximately 932 residents through 103 service connections that are mostly residential.
“We appreciate the cooperation between East Orosi CSD and Tulare County over the past several months as we all work together to overcome the many challenges this water system faces,” said Andrew Altevogt, Assistant Deputy Director, Division of Drinking Water. “With the benefit of Tulare County’s experience and oversight to help ensure the system successfully carries out its daily operations, East Orosi CSD can better prepare for the consolidation process and move toward a sustainable resolution of the community’s drinking water problems.”
East Orosi CSD currently does not meet the health-protective drinking-water standard for nitrate and has had several operational failures. Consequently, the system is on the state’s Human Right to Water list, which made it eligible for a state-appointed system administrator.
Appointing a system administrator is one tool the SAFER program can use to support communities struggling to secure a safe and affordable drinking water system due to the lack of needed resources or experience necessary to construct these complex systems.
Administrators are responsible for carrying out the following functions:
- technical (operations, monitoring, emergency response, inspections)
- managerial (customer service, rate studies, contracting for engineering services, applying for and managing funding, and preparing asset-management and capital-improvement plans)
- financial (budgets, accounting, payroll, personnel, billing and collections, clerical functions, grant administration, audits)
The administrator is also responsible for engaging the community to explain planned projects and to build its support for short- and long-term actions to ensure success of the system.
“Low-income status should not be a hurdle to anyone’s access to safe drinkable water. As a community member and board member of East Orosi CSD, I can share that we are grateful for the state board’s ongoing support and now the administrator appointment,” said EOCSD Board President Carmen Moreno. “This is another step toward consolidation and builds confidence that our system will eventually provide safe water for all in our community. Safe water is a human right—not a privilege.”
