The California State Water Resources Board (SWRCB) has given the city of Needles $3 million for drinking water infrastructure, according to a press release. The funding will support a new drinking well and booster station.
The City of Needles worst fears were realized In July when the only well that supplies the community with portable drinking water failed. The city was able to identify the replacement part and repaired the well within 24 hours. The city relied on storage tanks during this outage to get through the day in temperatures exceeding 115 degrees. By the time the spare part was installed, and the well was returned to operations approximately 16 feet of water remained in the storage tanks. The city's distribution system has over 200 leaks a year and they continue to increase.
The city of Needles has received $1.9 million from the State Water Resources Control Boards to fund a much-needed well to provide drinking water to Needles. The city will have officially accepted these funds on Monday, August 30th.
An additional $1.1 million in funds has also been approved for a booster station. Though the city is grateful for this much needed funding, there is still much work to be done on behalf of its citizens.
"While we are grateful that the California State Water Resources Control Board will be funding a new well for the City of Needles, there is still so much work to be done," said Rainie Torrance, Assistant Utility Manager for the City of Needles.
The city does not have adequate storage for emergency preparedness of fire protection, and has no backup generator for its only well.
The City's mains are also primary Asbestos-cement (AC) pipe that dates to the early 1960s and service laterals are a mixture of copper and orange berg that dates to the 1950s. The city has over 200 service lateral breaks and has experienced major main breaks.
The fight in the City of Needles for water funding is gaining statewide publicity. The city’s struggle was highlighted last month with a front-page article in the Los Angeles Times.
