In a related story, Reporter Mike Lipsitz takes a closer look at how the supervisors’ action could solve a long-running problem with the Pioneertown water supply and service…
Folks in Pioneertown who have been working with the county on a plan to bring safe drinking water to the 120 service connections there have reason to be optimistic, or at least cautiously optimistic, that their efforts may finally be paying off.
Water service in Pioneertown is provided by County Special Districts, but wells there exceed maximum contaminant levels for naturally occurring arsenic, fluoride, and gross alpha. The effort to pipe in safe water began almost 25 years ago, and residents have repeatedly been encouraged by the promise of a solution, only to see hopes dashed by delay after delay. Recently the foot dragging came to the attention of the Local Agency Formation Commission. The complaint came as somewhat of an embarrassment to County Supervisor James Ramos, who in turn, put pressure on the Special Districts and at yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, the County approved a long stalled plan to lay roughly three miles of pipe along Pioneertown Road where it will connect to the High Desert Water District’s system. The cost of the pipe, two booster stations, and a holding tank is just over $5 million, which the county hopes will be mostly paid through a grant from the State Water Resources Control Board. A construction timeline indicates the system will be up and running a year from now.
MORE DETAIL ON PIONEERTOWN WATER ACTIONS
