Water Resources Department Superintendent David Billips said mandatory non-essential water use restriction began Wednesday.
WESTFIELD – Impending upgrades to the city’s water delivery system and damage to the plant in Granville caused by Tropical Storm Irene have forced officials to implement water usage restrictions.
Water Resources Department Superintendent David Billips said mandatory non-essential water use restriction began Wednesday effective through Sept. 30.
All non-essential water use is only allowed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. at odd-numbered houses. Non-essential water usage is allowed on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. at even-numbered houses.
Billips classified non-essential water use as irrigation of lawns via sprinklers or automatic systems; washing of vehicles, except in a commercial car wash; washing of exterior building surfaces, parking lots, driveways or sidewalks, except as necessary to apply surface treatments such as paint, preservatives, stucco, pavement or cement.
Billips said a water supply shortage has been created by Granville reservoir supply being temporarily removed from service in order for workers to replace a 100-year-old raw water main that has been delivering only half of the plant’s capacity.
“The water main from the reservoir to the treatment facility has to be replaced,” he said. “It’s 100 years old and is exposed in some places putting it at high risk. It’s been putting out two million gallons of water per day, and it’s a four million gallon plant.”
Also needing repair is the spillway at the Granville reservoir that collapsed in August 2011 from damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene. The collapse, Billips said, occurred right at the point from which the water comes out at Granville.
“Without it, we’ve had to keep the reservoir at a lower level and can’t supply as much,” he said. “We have enough water without it, but we’re concerned about the high demand times.”
The cost of replacing the water main, Billips said, is $2.8 million, which is being funded by a low-interest, state revolving loan, while the anticipated cost of repairing the spillway will reach $1 million to $2 million and is reimburseable through the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
In addition to the Granville reservoir, Westfield water is also supplied by nine groundwater wells, Billips added.
The wells alone, he said, provide enough water for the city, and there was only one day last year where water demand was pushed to its limit, but officials decided it would be best to conserve as much as possible on high-demand days.