Tulare County Water Commission reports fewer well permits, flags bottled-water program transfer

The Tulare County Water Commission heard a drought update from county staff at its meeting, including a year-to-date count of well permits and concerns that the state is absorbing locally run emergency water programs.

Denise England, a county staff member, told commissioners, “So we have our, 2025 well permits, issued through, May 31. So as of May 31, there were a 160 permits issued, with a net of 1 15 that's taking out the, destructions.” She said that this number shows a continuing downward trend from prior years and that county conditions remain “dry,” though “not as severe as we've been in previous years.”

England and other staff also reported that the state Office of the State Water Resources Control Board will take direct control of the local tank-and-bottled-water program previously run by Self-Help Enterprises. England said staff have “a lot of concerns” about the change because one provision the local program held itself to — a 72-hour response time for delivering bottled water to households reporting dry wells — may not be retained once the state board manages the program. England warned this could leave households without water for longer.

County staff said there are roughly 300 tanks in the county’s inventory that support drought-affected communities. England reviewed several communities that rely on tanks or other stop-gap measures, including the West Orosi area, the Avenue 266/Harrison Road area and smaller settlements named Hypericum and Dogtown. She said some of those communities have individual short-term fixes — for example, the Greater Kaweah group recently approved drilling an individual well for part of the Hypericum area — but that longer-term, sustainable solutions remain elusive.

Staff and commissioners discussed options such as connecting isolated communities to nearby systems; England noted that Cal Water has extended service in some directions but may not reach all affected areas. Commissioners and staff said larger-scale solutions could be a decade or more away for some places: “longer term, larger scale solution is 10 to 20 years out,” one commissioner said about the Greater Kaweah area.

The commission also announced a stakeholder workshop on land‑repurposing and managed retreat for the Two‑Lisa (Two Lanes?) Basins scheduled for June 10 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the International Ag Center conference room, 4500 South Laspina Avenue near Tulare; staff encouraged landowners and stakeholders to attend.

Commissioners asked staff to add 2024 permit data to the graphic shown at the meeting so the multi‑year trend is clearer. Staff agreed to revise the chart and to show the four calendar years side‑by‑side for better visual comparison.

The commission did not vote on any policy at the meeting; staff were directed to continue monitoring the program transfer and to supply updated permit graphs at a future meeting.