INFRASTRUCTURE—
WATER AND SEWER

Why is this important?

Infrastructure forms the backbone of a community. It consists of the facilities and services needed to sustain industry, residential, commercial, and all other land use activities. It includes water and sewer services, streets and roads, and public facilities, such as airports.

What is the measure?

We focused our indicators on water connections, sewage disposal rates, and energy sources.

How are we doing?

Most of the residents of Tuolumne County receive their water from public sources; however, many residents in the rural areas rely on groundwater from individual wells. In fiscal year 2003-04, the Tuolumne County Environmental Health Division issued 185 permits for wells. Due to the limited availability of groundwater, no extensive development of groundwater occurred in Tuolumne County. Consequently, water from rivers and reservoirs is used to meet the needs of the county’s population. Recent studies by the Tuolumne Utilities District reveal that ample water within its system exists to meet the growth needs of central and northern portions of Tuolumne County.

Sewage disposal is provided by public utility districts or through on-site septic systems. However the majority of the rural areas have no public sewer system available, so they rely on septic systems. No information is available on the number of parcels that are currently served by individual on-site sewage disposal systems. In fiscal year 2003-04, the Environmental Health Division issued 613 permits for on-site sewage disposal systems.

We have no natural gas service in Tuolumne County. Propane is used as an alternative energy source to electricity, with six companies located in Tuolumne County that provide propane gas service.