TCCWD General Manager talks to Rotary

The Tehachapi Rotary Club speaker on Oct. 6 was Tehachapi Cummings County Water District General Manager Tom Neisler. The TCCWD services approximately 40,000 people, said Neisler, including Stallion Springs, Golden Hills, City of Tehachapi and some of Bear Valley Springs.

Neisler believes California is in the midst of a 1,200-year drought. Tehachapi's water comes from Oroville Dam down the 400-mile California Aqueduct to the Edmundston Pumping Plant at the base of the Grapevine. The water is pumped from there to the top of the mountain by three pumping stations and ends up in Brite Lake. The aqueduct is currently at the lowest level ever recorded, said Neisler. Much of our water comes from the melting snow pack. In 2022, the snow pack peaked in January and was gone by April where typically it peaks in April and is gone by June.

He also talked about the Goundwater Sustainabilty Project that the TCCWD is working on in partnership with the City of Tehachapi to produce a continuous supply of potable water. The project would take water pumped from the City's wastewater treatment plant, disinfect and filter it and send it to Blackburn Dam which is owned by TCCWD. The water would percolate back into the groundwater basin where it would eventually be pumped from TCCWD wells into the local water distribution systems.

Neisler reported that in his estimation our basins are currently healthy and the TCCWD has been able to meet 100% of its needs.

The Rotary Club of Tehachapi is a volunteer service organization with the motto, "Service Above Self." The club meets on Thursdays at noon. For more information about Rotary Club, you can visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofTehachapi/ or contact club President Paul Kaminski, (661) 699-5851.