MORGAN HILL
– Several days of 90-plus temperatures and city wells taken off
line because of perchlorate contamination have led to the first
water emergency of the year and residents are urged to turn off
faucets.
MORGAN HILL – Several days of 90-plus temperatures and city wells taken off line because of perchlorate contamination have led to the first water emergency of the year and residents are urged to turn off faucets.
Public Works Director Jim Ashcraft said Monday morning that the water levels got so low over the weekend that he ordered the Dunne Avenue well turned back on after a year-long rest when after it tested above 4 parts per billion.
Irrigation at city parks and facilities will be reduced by 50 percent and the city’s “water heroes” will be asked to go into water-saving mode until levels recover.
A water hero is a business that uses great amounts of water but one that is willing to cut back by 50 percent when needed. Ashcraft said four Morgan Hill School District sites, Alien Technology, Towa/Intercon Technologies and Cochrane Plaza have all signed up as water heroes.
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.
“We will go to the City Council on July 28 and ask them to adopt water conservation rules,” Ashcraft said.
The council approved up to $500,000 on July 7 for drilling an emergency well near Butterfield Boulevard just south of the Morgan Hill Business Park. Because the city water mains are nearby Ashcraft said it would be easy to connect the new well quickly. The well should be operating within four months.
