We restarted the water system yesterday (Saturday 24th, Christmas Eve) evening about 5PM. As usual, when the system is depressurized, we’re automatically under a boil water notice. This is a state regulation we need to comply with. We know it’s inconvenient, but that’s the rule. The earliest we can have samples taken for testing will be tomorrow (Monday the 26th) and results take a day or two depending on if the lab is open.
With the extended power cut, sharp drop in temperatures and high winds, we knew there would be multiple frozen pipe issues throughout the community. The ground is not yet frozen to any significant depth, so we don’t anticipate any deep breaks in service lines. Our problems will likely be from home pipes and services. Without working heating cables, even the supply to the home can be frozen.
At noon today, we checked the usage since 6PM last night. We’re on track for pushing out nearly 30,000 gallons of water into the system by 6PM tonight. For some context, under our best conditions we distribute 9k-13k a day. Lately we’ve been seeing 11k-13k with spikes of 15-16k (an anomoly we don’t understand as leaks don’t heal themselves). Our system is fed by two wells, one of which we can only take about 4k gallons a day from due to radionuclide contamination. We can reliably get about 16k gallons a day from them without stressing them too much. Beyond that, we’re depleting our storage tank (25k gallons) instead of keeping it filled.
Bottom line: If the leaks from homes are not identifed and stopped, we could be out of water in a couple days.
Even a single half inch line break can dump nearly 6k gallons of water a day. If you have a break and dump that much water on the ground, you WILL see it. We need everyone to walk the perimeter of their home looking for any outflows of water. We always ask this of you during water emergencies, and with snow on the ground, it’s very easy to tell who has and who has not completed these checks. Fortunately, we have identified two leaks so far today. We estimate 3-4 leaks are happening based on consumption. As pipes thaw out, there will be more. Be prepared for the system to shut down again. If it does (because we ran out of water), the boil notice will reset and we’ll continue until we return to something sustainable.
Ears and eyes folks. This isn’t over yet.
Thanks,
SGCC Board and Operations Volunteers