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Published on 07/21/1999 All articles from this issue

Water main bursts, cuts off LAH supply to 70 homes

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By Wendy Marinaccio

Special to the Town Crier

Purissima Hills conservation efforts under discussion

A water main in Los Altos Hills broke July 13, cutting off the water supply to approximately 70 residences.

The pipe, located at Arastradero and Fremont roads, split open in a 7-feet section at approximately 2:30 p.m. and buckled the road above, according to Purissima Hills Water District officials. "We have to replace quite a bit of pavement," said District Manager Patrick Walter.

"We had to shut down the water without notifying everybody because so much water came out," Walter said. Water was turned back on approximately 1:30 a.m., July 14, he said.

"The pipe just gave out," Walter said. He said the broken pipe was unexpected yet not surprising, due to the system's age. It was installed in 1957. Yet few pipes have broken in recent years, he said.

"We've been very lucky with main leaks. This is kind of a make-up for that," Walter said.

In other district-related news, the Purissima Hills board of directors discussed ideas for conserving water at its meeting July 14.

The district is in the process of developing a way to reduce water use in landscaping. It considered writing a town ordinance for water-efficient landscaping, but the Los Altos Hills City Council rejected that idea at a June 18 special meeting. "Right now, we're kind of scratching our heads," Walter said.

Los Altos Hills residents consistently overdraw their allocation of water, averaging roughly 20 percent more than allowed annually. In a drought year, this could create serious problems for residents, Walter said. Also, the town's "water waster" image makes negotiations difficult for the water district, he said.

At a minimum, the district will determine landscape recommendations for homeowners to cut back on water used for landscaping. But officials hope the city council will accept stronger conservation measures, Walter said.

"We're going to talk to a landscape architect to find out what makes sense," he said. "We don't want to think of something unreasonable."

Currently, officials estimate approximately 85 percent of the water used in Los Altos Hills is for landscaping.