Tank Refinishing Project!  It affects you!  Please read below:

Dear friends and neighbors,

 IMPORTANT WATER NEWS FOR MINERAL   JUNE/JULY 2024

Beginning immediately after meters are read on Sunday, June 2, Mineral County Water District (MCWD) customers will be under stringent mandatory water restrictions while the District’s 324,000-gallon storage tank is out of service for interior and exterior re-coating.

The Battle Creek Meadow Ranch has generously offered to share its new tank (next to the water plant) with MCWD for the duration and will be under restrictions as well. Please be sure to thank your friends at the Ranch for their mutual assistance to Mineral!

Having the use of this tank will save MCWD the large expense of constructing its own back-up tank and maintaining it.  The catch is that the Ranch tank holds 50,000 gallons, which is only 15 ½% of MCWD’s usual capacity.  Hence, red flags will fly at every subdivision entrance and the Ranch gateway to remind everyone to conserve water.

Water use in Mineral increases substantially on summer weekends. Ideally, the tank will be full early Saturday morning, not dip below 8 feet over the weekend, and then recover by Tuesday morning. Therefore:

OUTDOOR WATER USE, INCLUDING LAWN IRRIGATION, WILL BE PROHIBITED FROM FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

The District’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan is based on much higher storage capacity, so we are in uncharted territory when it comes to setting maximum usage levels. MCWD asks for customers’ understanding as we evaluate Spring #2 production and conservation throughout this period.

MCWD recognizes that mandatory restrictions are a serious imposition on homeowners, and we apologize for any inconvenience. However, re-coating is critical at this time in order to prevent structural decay of the 20-year-old tank. John Frehse thanks everyone in advance for their cooperation. Please feel free to approach him or any District associate with questions or concerns.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO CONSERVE ARE DIRE: IT’S NOT ABOUT PAYING MORE FOR USE. THIS IS ABOUT PREVENTING SEVERE FINANCIAL EFFECTS & INCREASED REGULATORY DEMANDS.

The best-case scenario for everyone is if total demand does not exceed Spring #2 supply, because the amount of creek water that Frehse can filter in a 24-hour period is restricted by regulatory requirements for chlorine contact time in the tank. Due to the tank’s smaller size, the required contact time is tripled.

The Ranch’s tank must be kept ¾ full at all times to avoid Boil Water orders. Filtering creek water to make up for more than 16,000 gallons (4 feet) of drop in the tank level at any one time will trigger a Boil Water order.

Once a Boil Water order is placed, it will remain until MCWD’s distribution system can be hyper-chlorinated and tested, prior to using the District tank again. A Boil Water order would not only create a big inconvenience for customers, it would be a budget-buster for the District, as well as a heavy strain on Frehse, who will already be addressing many out-of-the ordinary technical issues posed by this challenging situation.

This critical maintenance should be completed by June 30, but it could take several more days to re-fill the tank. Yellow flags at subdivision entrances will indicate that the tank is partially filled and back in service. Wait for District notices lifting restrictions completely before resuming normal use.

Consider attending the June 10th District monthly meeting for updates on conservation efforts, progress on the tank, and Spring #2 production (currently 18 gpm). Check for notices at: mineralwater.specialdistrict.org, MCWD’s display case, the Post Office, the Store, and Mineralcalifornia.com.  Questions?  District Secretary Cathie Gasper is available at 530-604-7824.