Several days of 90 plus temperatures and city wells taken off
line because of perchlorate contamination have led to the first
water crisis of the year and residents are urged to turn off those
faucets.
Several days of 90 plus temperatures and city wells taken off line because of perchlorate contamination have led to the first water crisis of the year and residents are urged to turn off those faucets.
Public Works Director Jim Ashcraft said Monday morning that the water levels got so low over the weekend that he proclaimed a stage one alert – termed Urgent – and ordered the number two Dunne Avenue well turned back on after a year-long rest. An older well, recently replaced on East Main Avenue was also turned on until Sunday night.
“Water levels were dangerously low,” Ashcraft said.
A weekend ahead with temperatures nearing 100 degrees will put even more stress on the system.
“We are poised for stage two or stage three this weekend,” said Mori Struve, Public Works deputy director.
The solution to the on-going problem will take time and money to get new wells on line. In the meantime the city is urging conservation.
“We will go to the City Council on July 28 and ask them to adopt water conservation rules,” Ashcraft said.
All residents are urged to cut back whenever they can and wait until off-peak hours – during cooler, nighttime hours – to do laundry and run dishwashers. Watering lawns is best done early morning or late evening because winds and hot sun during daylight hours wastes water.
Stage Two, called “Critical” reduces park irrigation by 50 percent, calls on the 20 biggest water users to do the same and back-up wells are activated.
Struve said that the levels last weekend fell below the 25-foot warning level, which includes a 5-foot fire fighting buffer in the city’s two main reservoirs, the new Edmundson Reservoir and the one on downtown’s Nob Hill between West Third and West Fourth streets.
While these two reservoirs hold 6 million gallons of water storage, the city has at least seven other smaller reservoirs, all of which are usually replenished during the night time hours.
“We won’t let the reserves get below our capability to provide fire protection,” Struve said.
The specter of running out of water from high user demand is coupled with the need to reserve enough for firefighters in case there should be a fire. Irrigation at city parks and facilities has been reduced by 50 percent and the city’s “water heroes” were alerted last Saturday that they might need to go into action reducing their own water use by 50 percent.
A water hero is a business that uses great amounts of water but is willing to cut back when needed. Ashcraft said four Morgan Hill School District sites, Alien Technology and Towa/Intercon Technologies in Morgan Hill Business Park and Cochrane Plaza have all signed up as water heroes.
Water hero action was not needed after all on Monday afternoon since levels did not reach stage two – Critical – but may be reached over the upcoming steamy weekend.
City staffer Andi Borowski explained Thursday that at the stage two critical level, residents are urged to cut back on home irrigation, delay hosing down patios and washing cars, shorten showers and just be extra careful with water use.
Under the Critical stage “water heroes” join the effort and the Main avenue well we return to action along with the Dunne well. The city has 12 municipal wells besides Dunne Two and Main One. The Tennant Avenue well was closed in April 2002 when high levels of perchlorate were discovered to have crossed the street from the old Olin safety flare plant.
In an actual stage three – Emergency – mandatory water cutbacks at major facilities around town will be in effect and irrigation at city parks and the top 20 water users would be shut off, Struve said.
Olin, the source of the perchlorate contamination that has affected several city wells, has paid just over $700,000 for the construction of a new well on San Pedro, replacing the Tennant Avenue well. The company is balking at accepting responsibility for damage to other wells or the chemical’s effect of the city’s summer water shortages.
The city provides Morgan Hill residents with low-flow shower heads and aerators for kitchen and bath faucets free for the asking. They also have a packet for waterwise gardening and water conservation kits. Stop by City Hall, 17555 Peak Ave. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or call Andi at 779-7247 and she will mail the packet and kit.
Ashcraft said he welcomed other large water users to sign up as “water heroes” by calling Public Works at 776-7337 during normal business hours. Cable television customers can tune to Channel 17 to see a slide running with water saving tips and details of the developing situation; this and more information is available on the city’s website.
Details: www.morganhill.ca.gov/ and www.valleywater.org/water/waterconservation
