Homeowners and businesses in six towns in Onondaga and Madison counties are under mandatory orders to conserve water in the wake of the break of a huge water main. The broken section of the 42-inch main, located near Taft Rd. and Northern Blvd. in Cicero will take at least two weeks to replace, which the water system serving those towns only has enough water for five or six days under normal use, said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon as he issued the conservation order.
McMahon said at a briefing Monday that large water-using businesses have already agreed to cut back on use or bring in water from systems in Syracuse or Oneida. Now that the county knows how long repairs are going to take, McMahon said that individual users in those six towns need to cut back their use as well.
“To be crystal clear,” McMahon said. “if the amount of gallons per day do not change out of this service area, there will be days when there likely will not be water.”
The affected towns are Dewitt, Manlius and Pompey in Onondaga County and Sullivan, Lincoln and Lenox in Madison County, all served by the Onondaga County Water Authority. There are 27,000 homes and businesses in those towns that are served by the water authority.
The reason repairs will take longer than expected is the same reason the pipe broke in the first place: The loose, sandy soil of the area. Water Authority Executive Director Jeff Brown said monitors that record the pressure of water in the pipes noticed a drop, indicating some leakage in the pipe. It was fixed but monitors continued to notice a potential issue. Then the huge pipe broke as the loose soil shifted underneath the pipe because of the leakage.
Because the soil is loose, it is a potential cave-in danger for workers in the excavated hole. So before repairs can begin, steel walls will have to be built in the hole and then water will have to be drained from the area. Only then can they begin to install 120 feet of new pipe.
The county’s emergency planners have been working on plans for distributing water in case conservation measures fail. McMahon hopes to see lower water use now that the emergency order has been issued. He plans to provide an update at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
TIPS FOR REDUCING WATER USE:
● Using laundry facilities in unaffected parts of the OCWA system (western and northern Onondaga County).
● Adjusting all water-using appliances to use the minimum amount of water.
● Running the dishwasher and washing machine at full load. If you wash dishes by hand, use a bucket or container with soapy water and only use the faucet for quick rinsing of scrubbed dishes.
● Taking 5-minute showers and shallower baths. Turn off the shower while soaping; turn off the faucet while brushing teeth, etc.
● Reducing the number of toilet flushes per day. Each flush uses about 5 to 7 gallons.
● Using sink and tub stoppers to avoid wasting water.
● Keeping a bottle of chilled drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the water till it gets cold.
● Eliminating use of water for ornamental purposes, including but not limited to fountains, artificial waterfalls and reflecting pools.
● Reusing water when possible.
● Commercial Customers: Limiting non-essential work practices that involve water usage and utilizing additional water conservation measures such as having employees work from home.
● Car Washes: Pausing all wash services until mandatory conservation is lifted and full water service is restored.
