T.U.D. Agrees To Help Del Oro

Sonora, CA — An agreement with T.U.D. will ensure that the community of Strawberry has water this summer.

The Del Oro Water Company sent a letter to T.U.D. in March stating that Herring Creek, DOWC’s main water source, will go dry by mid-July. DOWC put in an emergency request for up to 50 acre feet of emergency water out of the Stanislaus River, and T.U.D. agreed last night to sell the emergency supply.

“The residents of Strawberry are really faced with no alternative at this time,” says Pete Kampa, T.U.D. General Manager. “T.U.D. is here to support all Tuolumne County communities that are in need of a water supply. Without an adequate water supply, the residents of Strawberry could not occupy their homes, as a water supply is needed for sanitation purposes.”

DOWC and T.U.D. had similar agreements during the drought years of 2007 and 2008. DOWC supplies water to approximately 1,000 customers in the Strawberry region.

T.U.D. documents state that it will charge DOWC for the legal costs in developing and implementing the agreement, as well as the cost of purchased water from PG&E, and T.U.D.’s resale water rate. The sale of water from DOWC will be taken from the supplemental water available from PG&E, and will not affect the amount of free supplemental water available for T.U.D. customers.