Mail Tribune News - Talent�s water supply still low

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Talent�s water supply still low TALENT � City staff are asking residents to continue to conserve water after a water main break that sent 75,000 gallons of water into nearby homes Wednesday. Public works supervisor Lester Naught said Friday that the city�s reservoirs are about half full and asked residents to continue to conserve water at least through Monday. Wednesday�s broken main blew a hole in an embankment and flooded the basements of four homes in the Mountain View Estates senior community behind Wal-Mart. Officials weren�t sure what caused the break but noted the pipe was old. The water main rupture came at the worst time of year for the city, which relies on two aging water treatment plants that don�t have the capacity to meet summer demands. Last week the City Council asked for voluntary water curtailment so staff could perform repairs at one of the treatment plants. The city�s treatment plants are able to produce about 1.4 million gallons in a 24-hour period � about the same amount as the city uses. Another 2.25 million gallons are stored in city reservoirs, but ideally the city would have two to three days of storage in the system for breakdowns, emergency shutdowns or fire. Naught said the city is also awaiting the results of water quality tests "just to double check and make sure nothing got in there while we weren�t looking."   Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds |  Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive  | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA