City of Valley Water Update - May 31, 2023
The City of Valley is in process of upgrading the Water Treatment Plant to increase the production of water in the city. One of the upgrades is replacing the media in the four water filters. To replace the media, each filter needs to be taken out of service for repairs, which take approximately a week per filter. The replacement of all four filters will take approximately one month to complete. This process began one week ago therefore we are currently making water with three filters or 1/3 of normal production which reduces the amount of water we can produce.
The water consumption is currently too high for the City to maintain a safe water tower level for fire protection and malfunctions at the water treatment plant. In the winter months, the plant produces approximately 750,000 gallons of water a day. Currently, the plant is producing approximately 1,700,000 gallons of water per day and the largest consumption during the summer months is yard irrigation. The City of Valley has implemented mandatory water restrictions that all City of Valley water customers must adhere to. Even numbered addresses water on even numbered calendar days and odd numbered addresses water on odd number calendar days. For example, if your address has 123 for the house number then you will water on odd number calendar days (the 1st, 3rd, 5th and so on.) If your address is 122 then you will water on the even number calendar days (2nd, 4th 6th and so on). Please do not double up or increase watering times within the day.
On May 31st, during the replacement of the media in one of the filters, there was a disruption that caused the water plant to be shut down temporarily. Before the plant was shut down, discolored water exited the plant into the distribution system. Because of the emergency shut down, and the large water consumption from the public, the water tower has fallen to an alarming level, 16 feet compared to 40 feet full. To have adequate fire protection, the tower must be filled to at least 25 feet. With the current consumption this may take up to 48 hours if water restrictions are not followed. Unfortunately, hydrants cannot be flushed to remove the discoloring until we have a tower level that will provide adequate fire protection for the citizens of Valley.
If you are experiencing discolored water, please call the Utility Clerk at 402-359-2251 or cityoffice@valleyne.org and a PeopleService operator will contact you. The only way to remove discolored water is to get the water out of the water mains by flushing hydrants. When the water tower is too low to maintain adequate fire protection, hydrants cannot be flushed until the tower level rises.
The City of Valley, PeopleService and City engineers are working diligently to address this issue and need the help of the community to reduce water consumption during the repairs.