Tuolumne Band Of Me-Wuk Indians Awarded $3.6 Million For Water Infrastructure
Tuolumne, CA– The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians announced that the Tribe has been awarded close to $3.6 million in funding to install a water tank as well as improve and replace water infrastructure on the Tuolumne Rancheria. The money draws from two phases of the California Department of Water Resources(DWR) Urban and Multi benefit Drought Relief Grant program. The grant applications were completed by the Tribe through the Tuolumne-Stanislaus Integrated Regional Water Management Authority.
The Tribe plans on utilizing the funding to install a 400,000 gallon water tank, upgrade approximately 10,500 lineal feet of the Rancheria’s water main pipeline to 8-inch pipe, and install 15 new fire hydrants. This will allow improved water delivery to homes, governmental offices, and other facilities located on the Rancheria.
These additions will ensure that fire hydrants can be used for fire suppression efforts, and that the fire flow to those hydrants is sufficient and uninterrupted. Estimates have predicted that once the new water tank is installed that it would provide enough drinking water and fire flow for the Tribe for seven days if water supply were interrupted. It will also introduce a mechanism by which the Tribe could receive and store hauled water during longer outages. Tribal Chairperson Andrea Reich explains.
“This project seeks to build resiliency in the face of an uncertain future, These improvements not only address potential threats to the basic human right to water, but in addition will ensure the Tribe and emergency services have water necessary for fire suppression efforts.”
The Tribe will be working closely with Tuolumne Utilities District on all phases of this project. Construction is anticipated to begin in summer 2022
