Benicia residents must conserve water after pipe bursts at treatment plant
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
Residents and businesses in Benicia are being told to conserve water following a weekend emergency at a treatment plant in the city.
On Sunday, city officials began notifying affected residents and businesses via phone message about the conservation order.
The move happens after a water pipe burst at a water treatment plant along Lake Herman Road. Officials in Benicia said it could take several days for the pipe to be fixed.
The conservation order takes immediate effect. Under the order, residents and businesses are asked to conserve water by at least 30 percent. Outdoor lawn watering and car washing is prohibited during the emergency.
The city’s drinking water remains safe to use.
In a message sent to residents on Monday, Benicia City Manager Erik Upson said the leak was likely originating from a 24-inch backwash pipe that is located under the treatment plant.
Upson said he’s already heard complaints from city residents about infrastructure issues there.
"We have kicked the can of properly funding our infrastructure down the road for decades," Upson said. "It is never popular to raise rates and so it was left to the next generation, then the next. And so, we have an approximate $300 million dollar Capital Improvement Program we now need to fund over the next 20 years...unfortunately, we will continue to face pipeline failures, pump failures, etc., as we work over the decades coming to catch up with where our infrastructure should be."
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