Conservation Effort Helps Saline Through Well Issue

The City of Saline asked residents and businesses to conserve water, and, so far, that's what's helped the city through a potential crisis/.

Typically, the city consumes 1.3 million to 1.7 million gallons per day in the summer. Last week, however, Saline's water system lost its most prolific well, Well 5, as a new well was not yet operational. The remaining wells, 2, 3 and 6, can produce about 1 million gallons per day.

The city immediately called on residents and business owners to reduce water consumption. Residents cut back on irrigation, car washes and filling up the swimming pool. The city also reached out to the business community about conservation until all of the equipment was operational.

"The good news is that conservation efforts are working. Residents have responded well to our request to curb irrigation, pool filling, and vehicle washing. Daily draw has dropped, which, when coupled with some operational adjustments at the remaining wells, has allowed us to keep pace," Acting City Manager Elle Cole said. City staff will provide detailed data on Tuesday, Cole said.

Levels in the water towers are holding steady. Levels fluctuate throughout the day, Cole said, but the city has not seen an overall decline in supply.

"We're balancing supply and demand on a daily cycle," Cole said.

Workers will be at the water plant on Tuesday to install replacement components on Well 5.

"Once that work is complete and we’ve cleared testing, we expect to restore additional capacity by the end of the week. At that point, we’ll move from 'managing conservation' back toward normal operations," Cole said.

Cole said the city expects normal operations by Friday. She praised the community reaction.

"I’m grateful for the community’s cooperation. This is one of those moments where individual actions make a collective difference," Cole said.

Residents may notice harder water in the meantime because the water flow has not been enough to keep both reverse osmosis units operational.

"That doesn’t affect safety, but residents may notice slight mineral content until Well 5 is back in the mix and we return to both RO units online," Cole said.

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