Update: Emergency Water Situation 1/17/23 11:15 am

GOOD NEWS!! It appears the repairs to the broken infrastructure have worked and the water plant has been able to store water.

What does that mean for us? It’s great news, but MUST be met with caution for the next 48 hours.

Water is available to all homes, but it may take some time. Here are some steps to follow:

  • Best to turn on an outdoor source of water, so most of the air and brown/red color water passes through the pipes first.
  • There may be some iron deposits and sediment which occur in all water systems. That is the color you see. It should all be flushed out in a day or two.
  • Then open the bathtub next, to continue flushing air and the brownish water.
  • Use bottled water for the next 48 hours for drinking and cooking.
  • Check all of your faucets to make sure they are bringing in water.
  • Follow the boil water notices posted on the Chemeketa Park website @ www.chemeketapark.org

MOST IMPORTANT!!!! PLEASE CONSERVE WATER for the next 48 hours!! The distribution system is trying to fill up the tanks. It just takes time. No laundry yet. Please be patient.

Side note: The water we are getting is and has been, for the past two weeks, from San Jose Water through the Montevina Pipeline. There have been comments that we should get our water supply from San Jose Water. WE DO! We have used them as a backup source since about 2014-15. The problem we endured this week was due to a redwood branch damaging the pipe from the MV Pipeline to the redwood tank, and that is why we lost water.

There are repairs that will need to be made to the water plant and we will begin that work as soon as the rains stop. Stay tuned…