CALIFORNIA / TULARE COUNTY
East Orosi
Ran dry
No photograph available
- Population (2020)
- 423
- Water cut
- July 12, 2022
- Cause
- infrastructure
- Where
- 36.55°N, 119.26°W
What happened, and when
Every dated water event the register holds for East Orosi, newest first, each with the sources that document it.
- Ran dryon the card
Ran dry: what happened
On the afternoon of July 12, 2022, in triple-digit heat, the pump on East Orosi's east well failed, and because the west well's pump had been dead for years the whole community lost running water for most of a day. Supply came back briefly before dawn, failed again, and was restored around midday when a pump meant for the west well was installed. A family's home burned during the outage with no water to fight the fire, and the restored water remained too high in nitrate to drink. A consolidation with neighbouring Orosi, ordered by the state in 2020, broke ground in 2026.
- California State Water Resources Control Board: State Water Board issues new order directing Orosi and East Orosi to consolidate water systems (February 27, 2026)
- Los Angeles Times (reprint hosted by Self-Help Enterprises): On a brutal summer day, one California town ran out of water. Then the fire came (July 14, 2022)
- KVPR: Tiny Valley community goes nearly 24 hours without water after its only well fails (July 15, 2022)
- Tulare County Resource Management Agency (via CEQAnet): East Orosi well project (CEQA notice of exemption) (October 28, 2024)