Pasadena and other Foothill communities facing water restrictions

Residents asked to cut 30% of usage – no garden watering or car washing etc. allowed while major pipeline is taken out of service

At a press conference Tuesday morning Pasadena city officials from Water and Power as well at the Metropolitan Water District explained the steps residents in certain areas must take these next eight days while a major water line is taken out of service.
Consumers in the city of Pasadena and three adjoining Los Angeles County foothill communities are requested to reduce their water use—including refraining from outdoor watering while a major imported water pipeline is taken out of service for eight days beginning Thursday, Feb. 21. The outage is scheduled to last until Feb. 28.
In addition to Pasadena, consumers in Altadena, La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta are asked to contact their local water supplier to determine water-use restrictions for their area. Supplies for about 250,000 people in the affected communities will be limited during the shutdown.
Residents can get more information at www.mwdh2o.com and www.bewaterwise.com for the latest information on the planned shutdown as well as water-saving tips. During the shutdown, regular updates on the upgrade work will be posted on the websites.
One of the oldest water lines operated and maintained by Metropolitan, a portion of the Upper Feeder delivers treated drinking water from the district’s F. E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant in La Verne to foothill cities and communities in eastern Los Angeles County from Pomona to Glendale.
Debra C. Man, Metropolitan’s chief operating officer and assistant general manager, said the district routinely schedules shutdowns of its facilities in the winter and early spring, when temperatures usually are cooler and demands are lower, to complete inspections and perform maintenance and upgrades with the least impact on consumers.
“One of the biggest challenges to ensuring reliable deliveries is the constant need to repair and upgrade aging facilities,” Man said, noting that more than 40 percent of the district’s water system is over 60 years old. Construction of the Upper Feeder—which is comprised of tunnels, mortar-lined pipelines, and buried steel pipelines—started in 1933 and ended when water was first delivered to Pasadena in November 1941.
In preparation for the shutdown, residents and businesses are asked to do their part to ensure reservoirs and local supplies aren’t drawn down. Depending on the availability of local supplies, water conservation steps include no outdoor watering, hand-washing vehicles, filling swimming pools or spas, or hosing down driveways and sidewalks. Other water-saving measures include running only full loads in washing machines and dishwashers, not leaving the tap running when washing dishes, keeping showers to a maximum of 5 minutes and not leaving the water running while brushing your teeth or shaving.

Phyllis E. Currie, General Manager of Pasadena Water and Power, speaks at a press conference Tuesday about a main water line being taken out of service. -Photo and story by Terry Miller

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