After being shutdown since May as the result of perchlorate
contamination, the city
’s Nordstrom well will be back in service by Monday at the
latest. The well will have new perchlorate filters installed on the
well at the cost of $129,600.
After being shutdown since May as the result of perchlorate contamination, the city’s Nordstrom well will be back in service by Monday at the latest.
The well will have new perchlorate filters installed on the well at the cost of $129,600.
The well may return in time for the latest heat wave that will sweep through the Bay Area. Temperatures peaked Thursday at 102 and are expected to be in the low to mid 90s through the weekend.
According to the National Weather Service, the humidity will rise 10 to 20 percent because remnants of Hurricane Claudette are drifting northward from the Gulf of Mexico.
The city well, located on Murphy and Dunne avenues, is one of the best producing well at 1.5 million gallons per day.
The city saw demand peak at 12.12 million gallons per day during the month of June. This resulted in the city asking that the entire community conserve water. They currently ask that the community continue with water conservation until the heat spell passes.
Recently the city of Morgan Hill began asking residents to conserve water. The city must keep 25 percent of the peak demand on reserve, which is 3 million gallons.
The 12 wells currently on line produce a combined 11.5 million gallons per day.
There are two wells still out because of perchlorate contamination: the Condit well produces 288,000 gallons per day and the Tennant Avenue well produces 648,000 gallons per day.
According to Tony Eulo, assistant to the city manager, the addition of the Nordstrom well will help alleviate a strain caused by high water demand as temperatures rise.
By comparison, the highest producing well produces 1.8 million gallons per day. The lower performing wells will pump around 525,000 gallons per day, according to Eulo.
The city wells still in operation have had no detectable levels of perchlorate. Non detect is considered for all water having levels less than 4 ppb.
A delay in obtaining needed permits and a sanitation projection stopped the Thursday reopening of the Nordstrom well.
While Morgan Hill works to reopen Nordstrom well, plans are in the works to bring the Tennant Avenue well back online. With the largest concentration of perchlorate at this site, special precautions are being taken to insure that water from this well will be safe.
According to a city council report, the well is scheduled to go on line Aug. 1.
Perchlorate leached into the underground aquifer from a former Olin Corp. site at Tennant and Railroad avenues where highway safety flares were manufactured for 40 years. The chemical has contaminated hundreds of private and public wells in Morgan Hill, San Martin and a few in north Gilroy.
Besides exposing people to perchlorate, a major concern from Olin is that the activation of the Tennant well will force perchlorate to areas currently not affected.
“We are concerned that we will pull perchlorate from shallow waters into the deeper water,” said Rick McClure from Olin Corp. In the past, Olin has come out against placing filters on the city’s wells for that reason.
This past week, California Independent Systems Operator issued warnings to conserve power. Monday was a stage one alert as power reserves dropped below 10 percent. System operators saw usage higher than they had expected with more than 42,000 megawatts being used on Tuesday and more than 43,000 Wednesday.
There are no power alerts on the horizon, but things can change drastically. If people use more energy than anticipated, than operators will be forced to scramble. According to Jeff Smith of Pacific Gas and Electric, power usage will not be as high this weekend because business will be closed.
“We see the most usage Monday through Friday and we ask that people not use appliances unless until after 7 p.m.,” he said.
In order to prevent rolling blackouts, PG&E asks that residents cut back on power usage while the weather is still hot. People should do what they can to conserve.
People are being asked to keep thermostats at least 78 while they’re at home, and 85 while away. In order to keep the house cooler, cloths the blinds and curtains and turn on fans
Appliances should not be used until after peak hours. These include the dishwasher, cloths washer and dryer and the oven. Pool filters and sweepers should also remain off until after peak hours. PG&E also encourages that people buy energy efficient appliances.
Details call 1-800-933-9555 or go online to www.pge.com/fouryourhome
