Update 5:45 PM: After having to rebuild part of the pump manifold that was damaged during this failure, the raw water pump station is now operating with generator power. Water is being pumped to the sand filters at this time, and if all goes well, the system should begin to recover through the night. The work to replace the failed transformer is anticipated to start tomorrow as soon as the electrical contractor receives the replacement.
Thank you to everyone for minimizing water use during this system failure emergency. With the help of the potable water deliveries, the net drop in the reservoir was to eight feet from nine feet this morning.
Please continue to minimize water use until the District provides notice that the system has been returned to normal operation (i.e. off generator power).
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Update 12:30 PM: Generator has been connected, and we have power. However, valves are still frozen even though propane heaters have been running since 11:00 PM last night. Valve specialist was contacted early this morning and is now en route; should be on site within the hour to assess. Hope is that the valves can be made to work sometime today in order to pump water to the sand filters with generator power.
Replacement transformer will not be available until tomorrow morning. Installation is planned after it is received. Until then, the District will continue to run on the generator, and potable water will continue to be delivered to the clear well as needed.
Please continue to minimize water use until further notice.
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Phone
Message January 14, 2024, 9:30 AM
This message is from the Kootenai County Water District No. 1 Board of Directors.
Late last night, District
personnel responded to an alarm and discovered that we had a transformer fire
in the lake raw water pump house, causing a power outage, which shut down the pumping
of raw water to the sand filters.
Currently, the District has
all trades on site to repair and restore power so that the pump house can be operational
again to refill the sand filters.
Potable water is being
delivered during the day until the pump house is operational, but at this time,
an estimated time of Restoration (ETR) is unknown.
The Reservoir is currently
at nine feet, and the entire District is operating off this reservoir
water. A full reservoir is 14 feet.
Please minimize water use
to the bare minimum until further notice to avoid depressurizing the main
lines.
Please check the KCWD#1 blog at www.kcwd1.blogspot.com for updates, and let your neighbors know about this water system
emergency, as not all Patrons have subscribed to the emergency notification
system or blog.
Thank you.
