A well failure over the weekend has prompted the closure today of the Tulare County Superior Courthouse and several nearby government offices.

Those closed offices within Tulare County’s Civic Center, northwest of Mooney Boulevard and Highway 99, include those of the county counsel, supervisors, chief administrative officer, district attorney, assessor, auditor-controller, treasurer-tax collector, clerk-recorder and human resources.

A backup well is providing some water, but not at the same level as the main well that failed on Sunday, and county officials were leaving it up to department heads to decide whether to open for business today, said Carrie Monteiro, a spokeswoman for the Board of Supervisors.

She said this morning she didn’t know all the offices open or closed today. Some, including the DA’s and Assessor’s office had announcements on their phone systems, while calls to the supervisors office just rang, without any voicemail picking up the calls.

A call to the office of Auditor-Controller, Tax Collector made no announcement of whether the office was open and directed callers wishing to speak with somebody there to leave a voicemail message, but the department’s website states, “The Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector’s office is currently closed.  Sorry for the inconvenience.”

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Department Headquarters recently moved out of the Civic Center, so it isn’t affected by the well problem. But the county Main Jail, that’s part of the former headquarters depends on the well for water.

“The jail is affected. The county is working to bring water to inmates” so jail operations can continue, Monteiro said.

As for what caused the well failure, Monteiro said she didn’t know, but repair crews expected to have it running again by the end of the day.