Everett, Wash.
Published: Friday, November 14, 2008

Water warning a pain for some Snohomish restaurants

A boil-water order is in effect in the northern end of the city from tonight to at least 2 p.m. Saturday

By David Chircop
Herald Writer

 SNOHOMISH -- Health officials this week hand delivered notices to dozens of restaurants and supermarkets in northern Snohomish, warning them not to use city water to prepare food or for hygiene starting tonight.

Some restaurant owners and managers were surprised by the news that nearly half of Snohomish will be under a drinking water warning.

"Honestly it couldn't have happened at a worse time," said Kevan Bryant, executive chef of the Blazing Onion Burger Co. on Bickford Avenue in Snohomish. "We had our busiest weekend ever last weekend and for them to come out and shut off our water with basically no notice is no good."

The main drinking water supply for more than a half-million people in Snohomish County will be shut off for 16 hours from 10 tonight and last until about 2 p.m. Saturday.

Everett Utilities, a fee-­supported division of Everett city government, supplies water to about 80 percent of the county, including Marysville, Lynnwood and Edmonds.

It sells water to customers in Everett as well as eight other water districts, the largest in terms of demand being the Alderwood Water District. Others include water utilities serving Marysville, Monroe, Mukilteo, Snohomish and Silver Lake.

The disruption of water service is related to the construction of a new 6.7-million-gallon concrete reservoir at Everett's Water Filtration Plant at Spada Reservoir, located at the headwaters of the Sultan River, 30 miles east of Everett. The $20 million project will supplement an existing clear well that holds 5 million gallons of treated water.

This is the longest known water system shutdown since Everett first began drawing its water from the Sultan River in 1917. A second shutdown, lasting 24 hours, originally planned for December, was rescheduled this week to sometime in January.

Everett public works director Tom Thetford said Everett had no other choice but to take its water treatment plant offline.

Most homes and businesses in Snohomish County can expect water at the tap. But some people down the pipeline could experience low water pressure or no water at all.

Because of that, some fire districts are taking extra precautions and rolling out extra water tankers on calls in case water pressure drops to a point where fire hydrants become ineffective.

To maintain enough water pressure for fire departments, customers are being asked to conserve water.

Northern Snohomish, which is independent from the water system in southern Snoho­mish, is taking the most precaution, by issuing drinking water warnings.

Officials are also concerned about a possible drop in water pressure in the Three Lakes Water District northeast of Snohomish, but no health advisories are in affect for the 750 homes connected to that system. Wayne Burchfield, the manager of Three Lakes Water District, said Everett has agreed to restore its water connection if the district's two storage tanks become drawn down.

Last week, the city of Snohomish issued a notice, warning customers in the northern half of the city not to drink city water starting tonight without boiling it first.

If all goes well, the city could lift the boil-water notice as soon as 2 p.m. Saturday, said Karen Latimer, Snohomish's public works manager.

Notices will be posted on the city's Web site, www.ci.snohomish.wa.us, and on the door of Snohomish City Hall, 116 Union Ave.

In an effort to maintain water pressure, Snohomish public works officials are temporarily reconfiguring the city's water system. However, there are hilly areas in the system that could cause water pressure to drop and lines to dry.

If that happens, there is a chance that contaminated water could be drawn back into the public system, triggering requirements from the Washington State Department of Health to have water samples tested in a laboratory.

That scenario would extend the drinking water warning for at least a day, Latimer said.

Diane Reagan, manager for Alfy's Pizza in Snohomish, said she's frustrated about the shutdown and hopes it doesn't last any longer than Saturday afternoon.

"We're worked up about it," Reagan said. "It's a big weekend for us and we have had to scramble and cancel parties. It will hurt me this weekend."

Ginger Desy, administrative services manager with the Alderwood Water District, the largest water supplier in the county, said its customers shouldn't notice the shutdown, because it has adequate storage in its reservoirs, 70 million gallons worth, to ride out the shutdown. Still, she said customers are being urged to forgo unneeded water use during the shutdown.

"It's very much a test situation for many folks on this line," she said.

Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA