Water Crisis

About the LARC Ranch Water Crisis:

February 2015: The following appears on the LARC Ranch Water Crisis crowdfunding page. To to contribute to a long-term solution for LARC’s water supply issues, please visit crowdrise.com/waterforlarc

LARC Ranch is a very special nonprofit organization that helps developmentally disabled adults thrive. LARC_CrowdriseCoverLARC provides a safe residential environment and day programs for more than 100 developmentally disabled adults in Saugus, Calif.

However, their homes — and all of LARC’s programs and services — are threatened by a lack of water.

The California drought has left LARC’s water wells running dry, forcing the organization to truck in water to its Bouquet Canyon location. Trucking the water in is exorbitantly expensive and fails to address the long-term needs of LARC and its current and future residents.

Therefore, LARC is embarking on a capital fundraising campaign to obtain the funds needed to connect to Santa Clarita’s municipal water supply, which would eliminate LARC’s reliance on well water and enable the organization to withstand California’s drought cycles in years to come. LARC is directly approaching potential large donors, seeking grants to cover a significant share of the cost. At the same time, every contribution made here, large or small, puts LARC that much closer to being able to continue providing water for its residents in the future. LARC’s crowdfunding goal is to raise $150,000 toward the cost of the new water line.

During the current crisis, LARC has conserved where possible — for example, by refraining from irrigation. But, it has struggled to not only maintain an adequate water supply for drinking and daily use, but also for fire protection, which is a major concern in LARC’s rural Southern California location.

In the short term, LARC is thankful for the support it has received from the community, including a $500,000 grant from the Annenberg Foundation (see article link below) that has enabled LARC to cover the unexpected and unbudgeted needs created by the water crisis.

To ensure LARC’s future existence and the safety of its residents, a long-term solution is needed.

Here are links to just a few of the media articles about the water crisis LARC has faced starting in 2014:

Los Angeles Times: Drought Threatens Future of Center for Developmentally Disabled (July 7, 2014)

Los Angeles Times: Annenberg Foundation Donating $500,000 to Assure Water for Center (July 30, 2014)

SCVNews.com: LARC Ranch Thirsts for a Solution (July 22, 2014)

KHTS AM-1220: LARC Ranch Officials Raising Funds for Water Pipeline (Sept. 11, 2014)

The Signal: LARC Ranch Still Thisty, but Has a Goal (Nov. 28, 2014)

The new pipeline connection may have additional benefits to LARC in the future, too. Once the new line is constructed, other, smaller water users (for example, remote canyon residences that rely on well water) may also choose to connect to the new municipal line. In such cases, their proportionate share of the up-front cost would be reimbursed to LARC. In turn, LARC would channel those reimbursed funds to cover future unmet funding needs — for example, facilities and infrastructure needs that are typically not funded by government grants and similar programs.

We hope you’ll consider supporting LARC in its quest to secure the water supply it needs to continue helping developmentally disabled adults thrive long into the future.

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