City to continue Stage III rules; no sign of drought relief in sight
The Madera City Council will continue to impose Stage III water-use restrictions on city homes, schools and businesses because there’s little sign the drought will ease this winter. And even if the area does receive some rain and snow, it’s unlikely to be enough to recharge the deficit caused by over-pumping of the Madera County aquifer.
In a report presented Wednesday to the City Council, Public Works Director David Randall writes that there has been no significant reduction in drought conditions since Stage III restrictions were imposed in June.
“The city has had one well fail completely,” Randall writes, “one has had to be refurbished and three others have lost significant production capacity. Recent testing of our wells also indicates that there is a potential that other wells could soon have problems with the pumps breaking suction, which would require the bowls to be lowered.”
In a Madera Tribune “Madera Newsmakers” interview, Randall talked about some of the water problems the city faces...