Tuolumne County, CA: Additional safety repairs on the Main Tuolumne Canal, along with maintenance on flume sections, mean Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) customers are being asked to conserve water.
As we reported earlier here, February storms wreaked havoc on the 14-mile canal between Lyons Reservoir and the Phoenix Penstock, which provides drinking water to 95% of Tuolumne County, according to TUD. Two flumes required repairs, including one with five total breaks. Around 200 fallen trees fell on flumes, and 2 to 4 feet of snow fell on parts of the canal.
This additional work will take a week. TUD has teamed up with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). During that time, water from the Lyons Reservoir used by the TUD system will be turned off from Sunday, April 26, to Sunday, May 3, 2026. Both utilities are asking area residents to conserve water during the outage, noting, “During the repair period, water will not be flowing in the ditches, and the water supply will come from storage tanks and limited-capacity groundwater wells. Conservation during this period is necessary to ensure an adequate water supply for drinking, sanitary usage, and fire protection.”
TUD offered a list of ways customers can assist them:
- Limit outside watering.
- Do not wash vehicles.
- Turn off automatic lawn and drip sprinkler timers.
- Repair water leaks
Customers are also encouraged to conserve for an extra week after the outage to let the water storage supply recover.
