Earlimart residents go with little water pressure for days

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Water woes in a small Tulare County town, as the rural community of Earlimart has been without consistent water pressure since last Thursday.

But on Wednesday there was a sense of relief for some Earlimart residents, as water pressure appears to be improving.

Emma Erives has lived in the small town for five years. And has been feeling the impact firsthand, "To wash dishes, to shower, to use the restroom has just become unbelievable. It's stressful and not fair to the residents here."

Although it appears water pressure has recently been improving, some residents say they are still concerned about possible future water issues.

Emma describes the days having to go with little water, "My neighbor across the street is filling up buckets with water to use the toilet, and we are doing the same thing here and I think it's unfair we have to live like this."

Earlimart Public Utility says their well on Tulare Street, which they call "Tulare Well," is at least 50 years old and has a hole in the casing that needs to be patched.

Now they are waiting on technicians to drop a camera in and locate the issue.

"I want it done as soon as possible, because I am getting a lot of repercussions from all these people. We don't have water, no nothing, there is no pressure and I only have three little wells," expresses Joe, the local maintenance operator of 52 years.

Joe says he has seen wells go out in the past, but it's the first time their well on Tulare Street has impacted this many people.

Now the utility company is asking the community to be patient and use water wisely, "Be conservative not to water their yards, and take care of your necessities because nobody has any water right now," continues Joe.

Earlimart Public Utility shares that it is unknown at this time when the repairs on the well will be complete, but they are hopeful it will be soon.

In the meantime, residents continue to worry about water pressure issues returning.

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