Update (2:00 p.m.): Two “critical” wells in the Riverhead Water District that went down Tuesday are back online, Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter said today, but he is still asking residents and businesses to conserve water use.
With the high heat and lack of rainfall, the water district, which is pumping just under 20 million gallons per day, is “running everything full tilt,” the supervisor said.
Town water supplies are depleted during the overnight hours because lawn irrigation systems typically activate between 2 and 5 a.m. “The irrigation literally empties the water district’s storage towers every night,” Walter said.
The water district was cutting off large irrigation-only users last night to preserve critical water supplies for today, he said.
The two wells that failed late Tuesday night, located in central Riverhead off Middle Road, went out of service when a motor failed due to a voltage fluctuation from PSEG, Walter said.
The water district had already placed Well 16 back online. It was shut down last fall, because levels of the contaminant perchlorate continued to rise. With the onset of hot weather, the well was reactivated to meet demand, Walter said. A treatment system is currently being installed, but won’t be finished for another couple of weeks, according to the supervisor, who said perchlorate levels in the water produced by Well 16 are below EPA maximums. The contamination is believed to come from the use of certain fertilizers by nearby farms decades ago, town officials say.
Walter’s comments came at a “civic roundtable” hosted by the supervisor at town hall Tuesday evening, where he answered questions from and discussed issues with more than a dozen local civic leaders.
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