PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Public Utility District has declared a Stage 3 water alert for three of its systems, requiring mandatory outdoor restrictions.
The alert covers the Gales Addition, Mt. Angeles and Monroe water systems, the PUD said Monday.
The affected PUD water systems rely on purchased water supplied from the city of Port Angeles, which declared a Stage 3 water shortage, prohibiting or limiting non-essential water use.
The PUD is coordinating its drought response with the city as both utilities rely on the Elwha River as their water source.
For other PUD water systems, a Stage 4 Alert has been issued for the Island View Water System, while a Stage 3 Alert has been issued for the Clallam Bay/Sekiu and Fairview water systems. A Stage 2 alert has been issued for the Carlsborg, Evergreen and Panoramic Heights water systems.
The objective of the Stage 3 plan is to encourage customers to conserve water wherever possible and reduce water consumption, the PUD said.
Within the Gales Addition, Mt. Angeles and Monroe water systems, the following is prohibited as of Monday:
• Washing sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, patios and other exterior paved areas by direct hosing, except as may be necessary to prevent or eliminate materials dangerous to public health and safety.
• Escape of water through breaks or leaks within the customer’s plumbing or private distribution system for any period of time beyond which such break or leak should reasonably have been discovered and corrected. It shall be presumed that a period of 48 hours after the customer discovers a leak or break or receives notice from the city of such leak or break, whichever occurs first, is a reasonable time in which to correct the issue.
• Non-commercial washing of privately owned motor vehicles, trailers and boats, except from a bucket or hose using a shutoff nozzle for quick rinses.
• Lawn sprinkling and irrigation which allows water to run off or overspray the lawn area. Every customer is deemed to have knowledge of and control over his or her lawn sprinkling and irrigation at all times.
• Sprinkling and irrigation of lawns, ground cover or other plants between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. or an odd-even rotation schedule. That means property addresses ending in odd numbers are permitted to sprinkle on odd-numbered days, and property addresses ending in even numbers are permitted to sprinkle on even-numbered days.
The city’s water shortage response ordinance has five stages. Stage 3 is triggered when conditions have worsened and the demand on the water supply must be reduced.
Flows in the Elwha River have remained below 300 cubic feet per second for the last five days.
Meanwhile, Port Townsend issued a voluntary water conservation notice last week for households, businesses and industrial water use. The city of Port Townsend relies on precipitation in the Olympic Mountains to meet its municipal and industrial water needs.
Flow in the Big Quilcene River, its primary water source, is typically sustained by the snowpack through July. By early September, it is often necessary to utilize water from Lords Lake, a 500-million-gallon storage reservoir, when low stream flows limit water withdrawals from the rivers.
Dry conditions this year have accelerated depletion of the watershed snowpack. Drawdown of Lords Lake reservoir this year began Aug. 11, a few weeks earlier than in an average year.
For more information on Port Angeles’ water shortage response plan and water conservation, contact the Public Works & Utilities Department at 360-417-4800 or visit www.cityofpa.us/1424/Water-Shortage-Response-Plan.
For a more comprehensive list of actions to save water or to access more information on water conservation, go to wateruseitwisely.com.
