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pasadenaindependent.com
Thursday, March 3, 2016 - March 9, 2016
Your Voice, Your Community
Since 1996
Pasadena Forced to Rely on Water Reservoirs Until March 10
COMPLIMENTARY COPY VOLUME 20, NO. 9
BY GUS HERRERA
According to the city’s staff report, the conservation goals were not met, but as of last Monday morning the reservoirs were at an impressive 88 percent capacity, so as long as construction is complete within the proposed time frame the city should be fine. - Photo by Terry Miller
Earlier this week, the city council was presented with a critical update from city staff regarding Pasadena’s ongoing water restrictions. As of 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning, Feb. 29, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) shut down the water distribution system at their Weymouth water treatment plan in La Verne in order to begin major construction to upgrade and expand its production capacity. This project is estimated to be complete by Thursday, March 10. The City of Pasadena purchases 60 percent of its water from the MWD, most of which comes directly from the aforementioned plant in La Verne. This means that for 10 days Pasadena will be relying entirely on its wells and reservoirs. Pasadena residents were asked to completely stop all outdoor watering last Thursday, Feb. 25, in order to allow the reservoirs to be as close to capacity as possible before the 10-day period commenced. According to the staff report, the conservation goals were not met, but as of last Monday morning the reservoirs were at an impressive 88 percent capacity, so as long as construction is complete within the proposed time frame the city should be fine. Councilmember Hampton commended Pasadena Water and Power for the good job they did informing the community about the situation and asking for their cooperation. At this time, Pasadena has four fully functional wells producing 24-hours a day and there are two additional wells available in case of emergency. Unfortunately, the water in these backup wells fall short of state standards and regulations, so the city staff made it clear these wells would only be used in case of dire circumstances, such as large-scale firefighting. Councilmember SEE PAGE 17
Pasadena Police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez presented a report of use of force to the Public Safety Commission last month. – Photo by Terry Miller
Use of Force Report Presented to Safety Council On Feb. 16, the Pasadena Police Department presented its annual Discipline Overview and Use of Force (Response to Resistance) report to the Public Safety Committee (PSC). The material presented to the PSC is posted on the police department’s webpage (www. cityofpasadena.net/police). Chief Sanchez summed up the
report: In 2015, Pasadena police officers arrested a total of 7,481 people for various crimes and vehicle code violations. Even though Pasadena police officers made thousands of arrests, they only had to response to resistance 36 times or .48 percent SEE PAGE 17
Residents Confused by Mixed Messages City Is Sending BY TERRY MILLER The City of Pasadena is prohibiting all customers from watering outdoors, including hand watering, until March 10. However, if you are confused, you are not alone. The city’s ad campaign to combat the serious drought seemed to contradict the new one where temporary street signs alert drivers of the change. Huge billboards all over the city advised people in the City of Pasadena to water only once a week, from Nov. 1 to March 31. The billboard stressed Saturday-only watering but this has now been superseded by the Metropolitan Water District’s (MWD) supply shutdown. Presumably, these billboards were ordered long before MWD announced they
Major construction at MWD’s Weymouth plant will leave Pasadena relying entirely on its wells and reservoirs for 10 days. - Photo by Terry Miller
would be suspending delivery for 10 days. That billboard was replaced at the last minute on March 1 with one that states, “No watering is allowed.” The reason for the stoppage is upgrades to the Weymouth Water Treatment Plant. 60 percent of Pasadena’s water supply consists of imported water from MWD.