El Pasoans Struggle To Follow City-Mandated Water Restriction Rules
The Goeldner family has been abiding by El Paso Water Utilities’ mandatory restrictions to not shower, wash clothes, and not wash their car.
They said they’ve been sticking to the restrictions, mostly because the water pressure at their home has been at a thin trickle for days.
“Not being able to flush the toilet is a problem,” said Michael Goeldner. “But one or two days (of the restrictions)…I think we can handle it.”
Other restrictions include not watering your lawn or doing anything that would use a large amount of water.
That is a laundry list of “don’ts” from El Paso Water Utilities. Saturday and Sunday afternoon, officials urged residents to conserve water. They implemented mandatory restrictions Saturday afternoon and were originally scheduled for 24 hours but have now been extended indefinitely.
“It is a serious public safety emergency,” said Nick Costanzo, EPWU’s vice president of business operations and finance.
EPWU hopes that by implementing these restrictions, the city’s reservoirs will have a chance to raise water levels back up in order to meet consumer demand.
Sunday night, Costanzo on ABC-7 Xtra said 15 reservoirs had five feet or less of water Saturday, leading to the restrictions. Costanzo said there were now seven reservoirs that have five feet of water or less – some even at zero feet. According to EPWU’s Website, the water utility has 55 reservoirs.
Costanzo said EPWU would re-evaluate the situation at 8 a.m. Monday.
“At this point every single reservoir has been impacted, some of them are at zero,” said EPWU Public Service Board member John Balliew.
On a normal winter day EPWU pumps 71 million gallons/day (MGD) into the distribution system, and Saturday about 115 MGD was pumped into the system.
Mayor John Cook declared a water emergency in El Paso Sunday afternoon pursuant to the city’s drought and water emergency code, title 15.13.120. This allows EPWU to enforce mandatory water restrictions currently in effect. If car washes, laundromats and industrial users do not comply their water supply will be shut off.
Officials said water levels are dangerously low because of a combination of factors. Water line breaks and leaks have overwhelmed their system. Rolling power outages affected electronic water-pumping tools. On top of everything, customer demand for water is abnormally high for this time of year.
“You’re talking 45 million gallons of extra (water) demand going through our system right now,” said Costanzo.
Officials said it’s not clear exactly when the water levels will stabilize so service can go back to normal.
“If we have good cooperation, in 24 hours we should be back in a reasonable situation. If people don’t cooperate, it could extend for several days,” said Balliew.
EPWU asked school districts and other education institutions to not have school on Monday and many complied. The El Paso County Courthouse will be open for business on Monday. The city will decide at 5 a.m. Monday if City Hall will be open or closed.
The city is also under a boil water alert. Officials said that due to the low pressure in pumping well water, soil or other contaminants may have slipped into the water supply. They said the water should be suitable for drinking if it is left at a rolling boil for one minute.
Related Link:Mandatory Water Restrictions For El Paso Extended Until Further Notice
