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Securing the water supply to fight wildfires: Ventura legislator proposes new measures

The Thomas Fire burning at Faria Beach in 2017.
Lance Orozco
/
KCLU

Proposals aim to insure that water continues to flow even when there are power failures which affect water system pumping stations.

How can we better prepare our water systems to meet the demands from wildfires?

A Ventura County assemblyman is introducing legislation to insure water agencies are better able to cope with fires, which can create extreme demands for water.

It’s an issue we’ve heard about during some of the major wildfires in our region, like the Thomas and Mountain blazes: There’s no water getting to fire hydrants.

"I've been working on this idea ever since the Mountain Fire. We had the same thing happen that happened during the Thomas Fire. When you don't have backup power, you can't fill the tanks, and when the tanks run dry, you're not able to fill those back up," said Democratic Assemblyman Steve Bennett of Ventura.

He introduced legislation which would address the concern specifically in Ventura County, but could also serve as a model to do it statewide.

"The first step is to make sure fire hydrants actually perform up to their level of capacity," said Bennett.
 
Bennett’s proposal calls for Ventura County's water districts to top off their tanks after receiving word of a potential emergency from the county. Districts would have to ensure there’s backup power available for pumps during power shutoffs. And, pumps and generators would need to be put in fire resistant structures.

The assemblyman says this is a part of his bigger push for way to make California more wildfire resilient.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.