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Dear Residents and Water Customers of St. Helena,
Over the last several months the City of St. Helena has continued to take actions to address the discolored water that some residents and businesses have been experiencing. This has involved work across the distribution system, including systematic hydrant flushing, inspections at the Water Treatment Plant, and working with a variety of vendors to develop mitigation plans and solutions.
Major work will begin at the Water Treatment Plant on Friday, December 1, 2023. Water conservation by residents and businesses is requested from Friday, December 1 through Friday, December 15, 2023.
These repairs, as approved by the City Council, include rehabilitation of the two media filters and cleaning, preparation and coating of the Clear Well. The repairs will require that the treatment plant be shut down and are part of the water operations’ staff strategy to reduce or eliminate the future extended occurrences of discolored water in the distribution system. Additionally, it should be noted that the rehabilitation of Tank 1A has been put on “hold” pending engagement with the original tank manufacturer regarding the tank’s condition, since it’s less than 10 years old.
SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING WORK AND FUTURE TIMELINE:
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Friday, December 1: The City of St. Helena will temporarily shut down its main Water Treatment Plant after filling its two storage tanks. During the time that the treatment plant is offline, the City will rely on these storage tanks and its two other sources of water, the Stonebridge Wells and the interconnection with the City of Napa.
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Monday, December 4: Work will begin to rehabilitate the “Clear Well” and service the Water Treatment Plant’s filter system.
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Wednesday, December 13: The Water Treatment Plant will be back online after work is completed.
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February 2024: New pumps will be installed to pump water from the Clear Well to Tank 1A. During this time there is not expected to be any interruption in the water delivery operations.
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Spring 2024: Additional work on the distribution system may continue in Spring 2024. This work may or may not be needed to address any remaining pockets of discolored water in the distribution system and would involve cleaning specific sections of distribution lines in select locations.
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2023 to 2027: Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) includes 40 additional water and wastewater projects totaling more than $42 million that will continue to improve the City of St. Helena’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
WATER CONSERVATION REQUEST:
- During the time that the Water Treatment Plant is shut down the City of St. Helena is asking that all residents and businesses work to reduce water consumption. With anticipated voluntary conservation, the City does not anticipate a need to temporarily require mandatory conservation efforts by residents and businesses.
CONTINUED UPDATES:
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