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City water use tapers off as big freeze ends By PETER WONG Water demand in Medford and Ashland increased during last week's hard freeze, when crews in both cities also were kept busy with calls about frozen or broken pipes or other problems. Ashland customers are no longer being asked to limit water usage. Public Works Director Paula Brown issued an advisory Saturday because the demand on the water treatment plant was two-and-a-half times what is normal for winter, but the advisory was lifted Monday. Many people left water running on the coldest nights to prevent pipes from freezing. "The water use is generally back to normal," she said. Ed Olson, manager of the Medford Water Commission, said increased demand from users required the commission to increase its flows from Big Butte Springs by 20 percent. "For this time of year, that was a surprise to us," he said Monday. Ashland crews Saturday repaired two line breaks, one on Morton Street and the other off Romeo Drive, that Brown said caused most of the disruption to the city system. They also isolated breaks, equalized line pressures and ensured that all reservoirs filled. Olson said there were no major disruptions in Medford. Ashland gets most of its water from Ashland Creek. The Medford system, which serves the city and several other Rogue Valley communities, relies on Big Butte Springs, and when demand is seasonally higher, the Rogue River. Crews in both cities were kept busy during the holidays. Brown said the Ashland water division crew received more than 45 calls on Christmas. Olson said Medford got 150 calls during the three-day weekend, another 100 just preceding it at the start of the freeze, and 50 more on Monday. "But things appear to be calming down," he said. Pipe breaks and leaks normally occur when pipes start to thaw. In Talent, Public Works Director Tim Dedrick said conservation efforts by users have resulted in a refilling of the city's reservoirs. The city, which continues to encourage conservation, is scheduled to be linked by an intertie with the Medford Water Commission in 2000. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA