With wells drying up residents turn to water trucks

FRESNO, Calif. -- A growing number of Valley residents are calling on trucks to bring them water.

"My phone's been going crazy, now I'm up early and back home late, taking care of people in the rural areas who's wells are drying up."

Jim Brough, known as Aquaman is one of several delivery services, providing water for residents. The water in the truck is pumped into storage tanks. Some were installed years ago to backup weak wells, now, they've become a primary source for many homes. Most tanks hold about 2,500 gallons, some require weekly fills, some monthly.

Ron Heinz, owns Heinz Water Trucks. He has been delivering water for 40 years. "Most of them are wells that have gone dry, we do fill swimming pools."

The average price from various companies appears to be between $150 and $300 for each delivery of 2500 gallons, the cost depends on distance.

The delivery services get their water from city fire hydrants. They first connect a meter provided by the city, to measure how much they take. Fresno and Clovis charge the services little more than one dollar for each thousand gallons they take.

Eugene Keeney of NRK Services says business always picks up in the summer. "They work off their wells in the winter and as soon as the summer comes and the farmers start turning on their deep ag wells the water table drops and they all lose their wells."

Once the water table drops, wells must be drilled deeper and deeper, but the trouble is well drillers are so busy this year, it can take a year to get a driller. And new wells, or deepening older wells is expensive.

The water shortage is hitting all over the Valley and the foothills. If the drought continues, deliveries like this will become routine for more and more homes.

James Brough told Action News, "I think things are going to change in the future with water. Waters going to be looked at a lot differently and people will think this is like the milk man in days of old."

But the demand for water deliveries has created a new problem. There's now a shortage of storage tanks.