Ramona to Enforce Rationing in Wake of Water Pipeline Break

Ramona Municipal Water District officials declared a water emergency Monday night and enacted a tough, temporary rationing policy after the pipeline that supplies water to Ramona and the surrounding area burst.

District board members adopted a moratorium on using water outside the home that went into effect immediately. Spokeswoman Becky Coates said the district’s 33,000 customers will not be allowed to water their yards until Wednesday, when the ruptured line is expected to be repaired.

Agriculture customers are excluded from the moratorium, but growers may be required to stop irrigating with treated water if the situation worsens, Coates added. Growers using untreated irrigation water are excluded from the moratorium, she added.

Besides the cutbacks, residents were asked not to wash clothes and to reduce use of “non-essential” indoor water until the pipeline is repaired. Coates said district officials will distribute free bottled water beginning today to residents “who find themselves in an extreme emergency.” The bottled water can be picked up at the district’s office, 105 W. Earlham St., Ramona.

The board adopted fines of up to $600 for residents who violate ban.

A 13-foot section of the pipeline that feeds water from the city of Poway into the Ramona Municipal Water District burst about 8 p.m. Sunday. The parts needed to repair the break were ordered Monday and should arrive by Wednesday afternoon, when the repairs are expected to be completed.

“It is critical that all residents and businesses cut back their water use to the minimum until we get the line back in service,” said Jose Hurtado, general manager of the Ramona water district. “This means no outdoor landscaping at all. We are working as fast as we can to repair the pipeline, but in the meantime our water supply is extremely limited.”

The break occurred near the Green Valley Truck Trail, near Espola Road. The district is now forced to use water from Lake Sutherland, which itself is almost dry, said Becky Coates, a spokeswoman for the water district.

“Now we’re relying completely on Lake Sutherland for all of our water,” Coates said. “We had stopped drawing out water last December because it was so low. There’s just a limited amount of water left in the lake. Our demand has been an average of 8 million gallons a day, and Lake Sutherland can only supply 5 million gallons a day.”

Coates said the cause of the rupture is uncertain. “Pressure built up, and the line just burst,” she said.

She pointed out that Ramona has been under a “water alert” for about a year, meaning that residents have had to follow a modified rationing schedule, limiting water use on alternating days.