Residents asked to restrict water use

PORTALES — Officials do not expect shortages, but all the same they are requesting Portales residents restrict outside water use to only essentials next week while renovation work takes place.

A rehabilitation of Johnson Hill Tank West, a project of several months, will involve re-piping and interruption to wellfield flow from Tuesday to Thursday this week, city manager Sammy Standefer told The News.

Residents served by that wellfield — including those in Portales and some outside the city — will be instead served by a 6-million gallon reserve storage tank and a backup wellfield while contractors work Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We don't anticipate any shutdowns at all, or water loss ... we just need to control the consumption," Standefer said in a phone interview. "We're not worried about normal usage. The thing that's going to get us in trouble is if we have a leak or rupture. (With) normal operations, barring an emergency, we should have no setback at all."

Standefer said the work next week was the "most signficant piece" of a project that will "continue over the next several months" and that wells were shut down for tests over the previous months without issue.

A news release Thursday from the city of Portales said the water-restriction recommendations were to begin Monday, but Standefer told The News later that the work would instead start Tuesday.

"Please do not water yards, wash vehicles, fill pools, wash driveways or parking lots, or perform other intensive water use activities during this time," said the release, which stated similar requests may be made later.

Household water use for cooking and cleaning can proceed as normal, said Standefer, though the city was also using the project as an opportunity to encourage continued water use conservation.

Information: 575-356-6662, option 5.