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Montrose Mayor urges residents to cut back on water use

Forty per cent of available supply soaked up Tuesday night.

Beaver Falls could withdraw water services to Montrose if it cannot meet the demands of both communities, cautioned Montrose Mayor Joe Danchuk on Wednesday.

Danchuk raised alarm bells after 40 per cent of the holding tank was drained on Tuesday night.

“We’re fortunate that Beaver Falls is sharing their water with us,” said Danchuk, “and there isn’t that much to share.

“Right now, we’re manually opening a little valve from Beaver Falls first thing in the morning—like, at 7 a.m.—and when the guys go at 3:30 p.m., they close it because they have no way of controlling water through the night.

“Plus, their pump has to build up to fill the reservoir.”

The two communities are on a Stage 3 Water Restriction until further notice. The alert was issued after a recent break in the local water lines destroyed 10,000m3 of property in Montrose.

Stage 3 Water Restrictions prohibits all underground and above ground sprinkling, and Danchuk encourages residents to wash their vehicles in Trail or Fruitvale until further notice. He suggests residents recycle old bath water to water their garden until a timeline for the estimated repairs is issued.

The damages to the water lines are being assessed, but the root of the problem remains unknown.

Although it is clear that the breakage is related to a valve problem

“If people continue using (water), we could end up overtaxing Beaver Falls and they can withdraw services,” said Danchuk. “And then we won’t have water.”

Danchuk is in the process of scheduling meetings with Beaver Falls and expects to issue another public notice shortly, but for now his message is simple: it’s imperative water is only being used for urgent household purposes.

The council begs residents to conserve water, and delay gardening during the restriction period.