CCWD Photo by Joel Metzger
San Andreas, CA — Customers of a local water district may shortly notice that the water from their faucets has a different color or taste.
Calaveras County Water District (CCWD) officials say a temporary switch-over to secondary water supplies beginning this Sunday may alter the taste or color in the tap water of 6,000-plus CCWD customers along the Highway 4 corridor between Forest Meadows and Camp Connell.
While the secondary tapping of surface waters Hunters Reservoir in Avery beginning this Sunday may bring a different chemical composition and aesthetics to waters that those customers will be receiving, district officials are stressing that it is completely safe to drink.
They say it is also possible that these supplies may continue being used for a portion of next week before the district is able to once again source Stanislaus River waters at McKay’s Reservoir.
CCWD spokesperson Joel Metzger explains that while the actions relate to annual routine maintenance of an 18-foot tap tunnel by the district’s partner Northern California Power Agency, in past years when customers have not been notified there was an uptick of water quality complaints.
Metzger says by communicating the temporary change-over in advance, the district hopes customers will be prepared and not worry about the temporary difference in their water. He notes that personnel will be monitoring the supplies and conducting flushing operations if the water gets excessively cloudy. He adds that customers can also flush out their pipes by opening up an outside faucet and running it for a short time.