YAKIMA, Wash.- The City of Yakima asked residents to conserve household water use over four days as the Naches River Water Treatment Plant was forced to temporarily close.
Thunderstorms in the Cascade Mountains caused an excess of dirty water, also known as turbidity, overworking the plant. The city’s water division closes for different reasons throughout the year, namely in the spring with snowmelt, or in the winter if the Naches River freezes.
“It happens every year at different times,” said Yakima’s Water and Irrigation Manager Mike Shane. “It was just unusual this time of year with the high turbidity along with the hot temperatures.”
Due to the summer heat, coupled with the water usage that comes with it, conservation was requested from the city to manage the limited water supply.
The closure of the plant impacted the amount of water available, rather than the quality. Four city water wells help to clean the water that ends up in Yakima homes after it passes the WTP.
“Downstream of our treatment plant, the water has been filtered and disinfected,” said Shane. “It wouldn’t be anything that anybody would see coming out of their faucet.”
With the combination of the water wells and a partnership with the Nob Hill Water Association, the city avoided any major issues of water use during the closure.
When reopened on June 30, Shane said the community’s response helped the Naches River Treatment Plant.
“The City’s request for customers to conserve domestic water this past week was well received and made a big difference in helping us through the temporary situation,” said Shane.
While the turbidity issue has passed, for now, the City advises the community to be conservative with domestic water usage with expectations of a dry summer.
Shane suggests conservation can be as easy as adjusting your lawn’s watering schedule to every other day or avoiding high temperatures by watering at night.
