As the California drought continues, the LARC Ranch officials are finding new ways to thrive.
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LARC Ranch officials have began planning for this campaign, in which they are setting a goal to raise $3 million needed to connect LARC to municipal water supplies and end their exclusive reliance on well water, according to a LARC Ranch news release.
The LARC Ranch wells dried up earlier this year, forcing officials to look for other options to bring water to more than 100 residents of the ranch.
Ranch officials currently truck more than 11,000 gallons of water to the property every day, which will probably cost the nonprofit more than their expected $150,000 budget for the year, officials said Tuesday.
Related: Santa Clarita Valley’s LARC Ranch Gets $500k Gift For Water Shortage
“We’re kind of like a little engine that could — we’re gonna do it,” said Kathleen Sturkey, executive director of LARC Ranch. “We need a viable solution for water for my people.”
LARC Ranch, officially known as the Los Angeles Residential Community Foundation provides residential and day programs for developmentally disabled adults on 65 acres in Saugus, about two miles north of Santa Clarita city limits.
“We met with the Santa Clarita Water District and decided how much the project would cost, if it’s a viable solution and if it can be done,” Sturkey said. “We have a proposal for them. the project would cost more than $2 million and getting the water down to the LARC Ranch (property) would be a little more money after that.”
Sturkey estimates the project would cost about $3 million and is planning to create a capital campaign for the project this coming January. Several organizations have reached out and donated money to LARC Ranch for the project.
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Recognizing the severity of LARC Ranch’s water crisis, the foundation’s President and Chief Executive Wallis Annenberg made the decision to donate $500,000 to LARC Ranch to help keep the water flowing while we strive to create a permanent solution, according to the news release.
Related: LARC Ranch, Bouquet Canyon Community Still Out Of Water
The ranch also received $341,000 from the California Water Resource Board Interim Emergency Drinking Water Fund to help truck in the water until the pipeline can be built, Sturkey said.
“The pipeline would benefit our people and we would not have to worry about running out of water. It could help people all the way down Bouquet Canyon,” Sturkey said. “Others, such as the Gibbon Center, mobile home park, Lombardi’s… could use the pipe if they buy into it and I hope they do, because that would help the price considerably.”
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