People in Orange Cove are now allowed to water their lawns twice a week. But that could soon change because the city's main water supply is dangerously low, "If we don't get the surface water that we need for our community we are talking about devastation in our community. We are talking about our community drying up because of no water for the simple fact that we depend 100% on surface water," said Mayor Gabriel Jimenez.
The Friant Dam feeds those who live in the city. Whenever levels at the dam are down, allocations pumped into the city get cut. So in this drought year leaders are gearing up for a drastic slash.
Tapping into other supplies is expensive and could cost over one million dollars this year. That's money the Mayor says the city just doesn't have. "We are talking bankruptcy; we are talking about total devastation from our community," said Jimenez.
City manager Samuel Escobar told us dealing with another past water problem, the dangerous levels of nitrates is what depleted most of the funding. He's now trying to figure out how to get residents through the drought.
A special city council meeting is scheduled for Friday afternoon to discuss water conservation.
