A Jan. 20 groundbreaking ceremony officially launched the construction of a new groundwater well for Allensworth, the first town in California established by African Americans.
Funding for the project comes from the California State Water Board in the form of a $3.8 million Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program grant for the construction of the well, and an accompanying storage tank, to supply safe drinking water to the town of about 500.
“This is history in the making for Allensworth,” said Sherry Hunter, Allensworth Community Service District board president. “The town’s demise was all about water, and it’s always been a challenge for us in Allensworth.
“Now that we’re going to have access to more water, safer water, I’m just excited. And the new storage tank that comes along with it gives more access to a larger quantity of water.”
Hunter became a member of the board in 2010, when the state was trying to decide how to supply the small Tulare County community with safe drinking water.
“They did a feasibility study in 2013, and that’s when they said, ‘The best way to get them better water is to give them another well and drill for better quality of water,’” she said. “And they did, and we went through the environmental study with (the California Department of) Fish and Wildlife, which took us about seven or eight years. Then we got the construction grant, and we still had to jump through hoops.
“But 13 years later, we are about to get that new well put in,” Hunter said.
“And with the new well comes alongside it a 500,000-gallon storage tank,” she said.
“The Allensworth CSD is like many CSDs throughout our area, throughout the valley, that have lacked the resources to have a sufficient infrastructure capacity to deliver clean, potable water,” said Tulare County Supervisor Pete Vander Poel, whose district includes Allensworth. “They now have that opportunity, and so they’re very, very excited, and I’m excited for them.
“They’ve been going through an administrator process with an outside entity, Stantec, who’s come in to help run their CSD and get them on the right track,” he added.
More challenges ahead
More work will be needed in Allensworth, even after the new well is built and operating.
“The pipes are old and we’re seeking grant funds for infrastructure,” Hunter said. “That’s something that we’re working on, but everybody gotta crawl before they walk. We are more excited about getting that new well and that storage tank, and we’ll work on the infrastructure as we get there.”
Allensworth also has electrical challenges.
“They will have electrical problems since the community is on one grid and the wells, which are about a mile or two outside of the community, are on a different grid,” said Emmanuel Hernandez Soto, community development specialist for Self-Help Enterprises. “Both are too degraded and that causes issues as well, especially in the summers.
“If a community member wants to build a home out there or add a line to a second home on their property, it’s an eight- to 12-month wait,” Soto said. “And the list has over 10 people, so you’re talking about years of people waiting. We still need to get a generator out there that will resolve it, but this is one of the first steps towards a solution.”
A brief history of Allensworth
Allensworth is named after Colonel Allen Allensworth, who was born a slave in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1842 and went on to become the highest ranking black officer in the U.S. Army. He led the effort to create the town in 1908, and the town continued to grow until 1925 when water became an issue.
“Irrigation water was never delivered in sufficient supply as promised by the Pacific Farming Company, the land development firm that handled the original purchase,” wrote historian Dr. Robert S. Mikell. “As a result, town leaders were engrossed in lengthy and expensive legal battles with the company, expending scarce financial resources on a battle they would not win.”
In 1966, high levels of arsenic were discovered in the drinking water, which caused all but 34 families to leave, according to Mikell.
Three years later, Cornelius Ed Pope, an African American draftsman with the California Department of Parks and Recreation, started a campaign to recreate the original buildings of Allensworth. The result of his efforts is Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, which attracts an estimated 70,000 visitors annually.
With safe drinking water, the town of Allensworth may soon see a population increase.
“It’s a big deal, it’s a long time coming, and it’s going to help with the growth in our community and people moving back to Allensworth,” Hunter said. “There’s been quite a few people that expressed interest in moving back here, but they said, ‘You guys got bad water.’ Well, things are changing.”
Construction on the well is expected to be completed in 12 to 14 months, according to Soto, who cautioned that the project could be delayed because Southern California Edison, which supplies the power needed to pull water from the ground, is currently backed up with other projects. The completion of the storage tank is expected in 2027.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Allensworth to finally have safe drinking water
Reporting by Steve Pastis, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
