Heat Related/Power Information
City Services During Blackouts
Emergency Services
Essential city services will be available regardless of outages. Public safety facilities such as the police station and all fire stations are equipped with emergency generators and will not be affected by outages. Emergency response to 9-1-1 calls will be unchanged by outages.
City Utilities (water, sewer, drainage)Water, sewer and drainage facilities will in most cases be unaffected by short-term outages.
All but one of the city's 22 water wells are electrically powered. Fortunately, the wells are located throughout the city, and not all will be affected at the same time by rotating outages. During the winter months, when water use is relatively low, rotating outages did not noticeably impact water consumers because water wells in unaffected areas were able to maintain sufficient water supply and pressure throughout the system, even within areas experiencing power outages. The water pipes are interconnected and have no individual boundaries or zones.
However, if the rotating outages carry on through the summer months as anticipated, water pressure could be affected during the peak use periods of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The city has four large portable generators, each capable of operating a water well. These generators will be strategically placed and operated to avoid disruption of water service.
While we expect these generators will help maintain the citywide water supply, there are a few very simple things you can do to assist:
- If your irrigation sprinklers are automatically controlled, turn the controller off during days when outages are expected, even if they don't occur in your neighborhood. That will help maintain the water supply citywide.
- Avoid extra water use during peak hours, by postponing activities such as dishwashing and clothes washing.
- While "Stage 3" power alerts and rotating power outages are occurring, please cease all outside water use.
Traffic signals will be affected by rotating outages. The California Vehicle Code clearly states that a traffic signal experiencing a power outage should be treated as a stop sign. Always stop at a blacked-out traffic signal, and wait your turn to proceed. Remember to drive defensively.
Pedestrians and bicyclists should use extreme caution while crossing intersections with blacked out traffic signals.
