More than three dozen people from across Kern County have applied to receive a free water storage tank and electric pump under a state-funded program providing relief for California residents whose wells have gone dry.
The program gives a 2,600-gallon, 9-foot-tall tank to applicants who can demonstrate that their lack of water results not from maintenance problems but because of the drought. The tank and pump are left at qualifying residences and water deliveries are made for up to a year, although six-month extensions may be granted.