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No need to fill the bathtub; city's water system works on gravity

By KRISTEN DAVENPORT, The New Mexican - 12/27/1999

Editor's note: This is part of a daily series of countdown columns looking at Y2K computer problems, the Year 2000 and related issues. Five days to go.

Precious water: Be thankful for the mountains.

Santa Fe is in much better shape for Y2K when it comes to water than most other cities in the country. The blessing, it seems, is the Sangre de Cristo mountain range that towers above us.

Several people called up last week wanting to know whether they should really fill their bathtubs on Dec. 31 so they will be able to flush their toilets if electricity goes out on New Year's Eve, possibly shutting off the water supply.

Mike Hamman, director of Santa Fe's water company, says it's not necessary ... unless you're on a well rather than city water.

The entire city water system can be kept in operation even if electricity goes off for days because Santa Fe sits below great reservoirs of water that are funneled into our homes through a force that can't be affected by terrorists or Y2K - gravity.

The only problem the city would have if the electricity went off would be treating water in the reservoirs. For that, Hamman said, the city owns a generator that can easily treat enough water to supply the town with the 5 to 6 million gallons a day residents typically use this time of year.

On Dec. 31, Hamman said, all tanks will be topped off and filled, so the treatment center won't even need to be used for several days. Only two of the city's tanks (out of a dozen or so tanks) require more than gravity to be filled - and a second generator can pump the water to those two tanks, Hamman said. That generator was used about three months ago when a lightning strike hit one of the electrical systems on the higher tanks, he said.

So the raw reservoir water flows naturally into the treatment center powered by generators and is then sent powered by gravity to tanks and then sent - once again using gravity - to our bathrooms and showers and kitchens.

This could continue for at least a week or two, Hamman said. After two weeks, the system could get strained.

"Toward the end of two weeks, we might start seeing some trouble," he said. "But from what I understand, if there are outages, power would be given to critical systems from the grid when it's available."

The only reason to fill a tub for Y2K, Hamman said, is "peace of mind."

"Except those on private wells may want to," he said. "But if people want to fill up their tubs as a little reservoir, that might be prudent. But we're not really recommending it."

If electricity goes down, wells would shut down as well.

The Public Service Co. of New Mexico has said an extended outage is highly unlikely. What is much more likely, however, is power fluctuations that could mess up some sensitive electronic equipment.

Many people who get water from wells are unplugging their wells on New Year's Eve to make sure extreme power fluctuations don't short out their well systems as well.

Both PNM and Hamman say that's probably unlikely. Wells have circuit breakers, which would prevent that from happening.

Again, though, you might want to unplug it just for peace of mind and fill up the bathtub.

As for storing water, it's never too bad an idea, but also probably not necessary for those on city water, Hamman said.

"Maybe you could store a gallon a day drinking water for a week or so," he said. "But if people are already used to tap water, it's going to be of excellent quality, unless we go for weeks without power."

The water company will send out advisories if it appears power is going to remain off for any length of time, he said. Residents would also be notified if there were any reason to think the water wasn't properly treated or contained anything harmful. The city water company has several contingency plans, he said, "in case of multiple problems."

"We're in good shape, and our staff are on call and ready to rock if anything happens," he said.

Hamman, who lives in Rio Arriba County, said his own well is high in sodium, so he drinks bottled water anyway. Just the same, he's not storing much extra for Y2K.

"I'll have five gallons on hand for the three of us," he said.

For suggestions on questions that could be answered in upcoming Y2K columns, or to submit items, call Kristen Davenport at 986-3017. Tomorrow and later this week: A look at whether New Mexico's smaller electric co-operatives are ready for Y2K and last-minute news.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@AOL.COM), December 27, 1999