Letters to the Editor: Water district officials thank all for ‘outstanding’ cooperation during pipeline inspection work
Foothill Municipal Water District received an outstanding public response March 19 through 23 from customers refraining from outdoor water use to accommodate the inspection of an imported water pipeline.
The inspection covered about 10,000 feet of pipeline starting near the Rose Bowl and ended in La Cañada Flintridge. A robot utilized high-definition cameras and electromagnetic sensors to measure the steel wall thickness of the pipe and log other data points as it traveled.
The results from the inspection will better inform our Capital Improvement Program moving forward. Ensuring the reliability of our pipelines through planned maintenance and rehabilitation will be less costly than an emergency repair.
During the inspection, local water agencies were unable to access normal imported water deliveries and relied upon local groundwater, water already stored at reservoirs throughout the city and a minimal amount of water from the city of Glendale.
The inspection is complete and customers can resume outdoor irrigation. However, residents should continue with water efficient practices. During these spring months, most landscape can be irrigated just once or twice a week. Now is a good time to check your irrigation timer settings to ensure optimal operation. Additionally, spring rain showers offer a great opportunity to shut off the sprinklers for a few days.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, most of California is experiencing abnormally dry to drought-like conditions. Southern California’s water year, which runs from October 2017 to September 2018, is seeing one of its driest starts in decades. As of March 27, rainfall for the local area as recorded by the L.A. County - Descanso rain station totaled only 8.13 inches so far this season.
It’s apparent that there could be a significant draw from water reserves to meet all demands in Southern California this year. So while we thank our customers for their cooperation last week, we should continue to build on conservation as a way of life in the Foothill area.
Nina Jazmadarian, general manager
Dan Drugan, water technician
Foothill Municipal Water District