[KHTS] – As the California drought continues, LARC Ranch is planning to bring water from the Castaic Lake Water Agency’s Santa Clarita Water Division for a reliable, long-term alternative to dried-up wells.

LARC, the nonprofit operator of a community for disabled adults, will build a roughly 1-3/4 mile-long water pipeline stretching from Bouquet Canyon Road up to Shadow Valley Lane to the ranch, said Brent Payne, senior engineer for Santa Clarita Water Division.

The LARC Ranch wells dried up in 2014, forcing officials to look for other options to bring water to more than 100 residents of the ranch.

While a bill by Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, has recently been signed into law to bring water flow back to Bouquet Canyon creek, LARC Ranch was still looking for a permanent solution to their water crisis.

As of March 2014, LARC Ranch has trucked in about 80 million gallons of water, about 10,000 gallons per day, said Kathy Sturkey, executive director of LARC Ranch.

“Trucking the water in is exorbitantly expensive and fails to address the long-term needs of LARC and its current and future residents,” according to LARC Ranch officials on their Crowd Rise page.

LARC Ranch, officially known as the Los Angeles Residential Community Foundation provides residential and day programs for developmentally disabled adults in Saugus.

“(LARC Ranch is) engaged with the Santa Clarita Water Division,” said Sturkey. “We are going to hook up a line from the city water at the cost of a couple million dollars.”

The pipeline would put LARC Ranch on the Santa Clarita Water Division’s water supply, said Payne.

LARC Ranch has conserved water where possible, according to LARC Ranch officials, however it has struggled to not only maintain an adequate water supply for drinking and daily use, but also for fire protection, which is one of their major concerns.

Santa Clarita Water Division’s water supply is long-term and reliable, bringing LARC Ranch a permanent solution, Payne said. In turn, LARC Ranch would no longer have to truck in water.

The preliminary estimate for the project is roughly $2.5 million, said Payne.

LARC Ranch is currently working through the grant application process and will submit it to the state for approval later this year, Payne said. Once the state approves the funding is when construction will start.

LARC Ranch has already received a number of grants, including $500,000 from the Annenberg Foundation, said Sturkey.

LARC Ranch has also set up a Crowd Rise page to help with costs of the pipeline project and has also held many fundraising events.

The pipeline project is anticipated to be completed in either late 2016 or early 2017, Sturkey said.