CARLSBORG — Clallam County Public Utility District No. 1 has announced a Stage 3 drought response for the Island View Water System and a Stage 2 drought response for the Fairview and the Clallam Bay/Sekiu water systems.
A Stage 3 drought response limits outdoor water use to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, prohibits the washing of vehicles, except for safety purposes, and includes the voluntary measures included in a Stage 2 response.
The Stage 2 response requests customers to begin voluntary water conservation measures such as:
• Reducing outdoor water use.
• Fixing leaky faucets and toilets.
• Taking shorter showers, not baths.
• Installing low-flow showerheads and faucets.
• Operating automatic dish and clothes washers only when full.
• Reusing clean household water. Collecting all water that is wasted while waiting for the hot water to reach your faucet. Use that water for houseplants or outdoor plants.
• Using water-efficient appliances.
The Island View Water System, located about 10 miles west of Sekiu, draws its drinking water from the Olsen Creek Surface Water Treatment Plant.
The district is required to stop producing drinking water at the Olson Creek plant when the creek’s flow falls below 0.077 cubic feet per second (cfs).
Olsen Creek streamflow is expected to drop below 0.077 cfs within the next three weeks, based on data collected and evaluated by the U.S. Geological Service (USGS).
When production at the Olson Creek plant stops, 100 percent of the water supply for the Island View Water System will be trucked from the Clallam Bay/Sekiu Water System.
The Fairview Water System, a portion of the Port Angeles Composite Water System located between Morse Creek and McDonald Creek, draws water from the Morse Creek Surface Water Treatment Plant.
Customers with rate codes FV-C and FV-R on their PUD bills are within the Fairview system.
The district is required to stop producing drinking water production at the Morse Creek plant when flows fall below 25 cfs.
The USGS predicts that Morse Creek streamflow will drop to 25 cfs within the next two to three weeks.
When production stops at the Morse Creek plant, the Fairview system will draw all of its water from two groundwater wells in the lower part of the system.
While the wells can supply the Fairview Water System through the dry season, the district is asking Fairview customers to voluntarily reduce their overall water usage to mitigate the added demand on these wells.
The Clallam Bay/Sekiu Water System, which serves Clallam Bay, Sekiu and Clallam Bay Corrections Center, draws its water from a well field near the Hoko River.
Data collected and evaluated by USGS suggests that Hoko River streamflows will drop below 14 cfs, the criteria for a Stage 2 Drought Response, within the next three weeks.
For a more comprehensive list of water conservation measures, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.
