Two days after county officials ordered the closure of all businesses serving food in Poway, nearly 200 restaurants and bars remained shuttered Monday, awaiting word from state officials that the water supply was safe and they could reopen.
Meanwhile, residents helped themselves to the 400,000 bottles of water made available by the city, and school officials tapped an outside vendor to feed the thousands of students returning from a holiday break.
City officials announced the possible contamination of Poway’s water supply on Saturday, which led to a boil-water advisory being issued Saturday night and orders from the county’s health department to close all restaurants and bars.
Officials say testing so far has shown the water is safe to drink, but because of discoloration noticed in tap water throughout the city following the recent rains, the state issued the boil-water alert, which led to the county ordering all food facilities to close.
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“We have a situation where all our test readings are fine,” said Poway Mayor Steve Vaus, who along with many city workers and volunteers helped distribute thousands of cases of bottled water to residents Sunday and Monday.
“The water is completely safe. We’re just waiting on the state. Once the state wanted us to go to a precautionary boil-water alert, the county health department got involved and told the restaurants to close down. That’s what breaks my heart. We’re dinging a lot of people during the holidays, particularly the folks who work at those restaurants. I want to get this over as soon as possible, but we are at the mercy of the state.”
Poway, an upscale suburban community surrounded on three sides by San Diego, provides water to about 14,000 customers, which includes about 50,000 residents.
A county spokesman said Monday that roughly 190 restaurants and other places that prepare food in the city were ordered to close because they would not be able to boil enough water to handle food facility operations such as safe food preparation, hand washing, dish sanitizing and cleaning.
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Authorities say they think the problem is connected to the city’s clear well, which is basically a large pond or reservoir covered with a secure tarp where the city’s water is stored near Lake Poway after it has been treated. The clear well holds about 10 million gallons of drinkable water.
“We think a little bit of mud got in there and discolored some of the water,” Vaus said. “There has never been a problem with bacterial levels in the water tests we’ve done. It’s simply called turbidity, a new word that I’ve learned, which means there is a little bit of dirt in the water.”
Vaus said the problem was caused by a flapper valve or door getting partially stuck open on an overflow vault next to the clear well. The open valve allowed runoff from the rains to get into the clear well. The valve has since been repaired.
“It was a fluke thing,” Vaus said. “It was nobody’s fault.”
City officials posted this explanation Monday afternoon:
“After extensive investigation, the City of Poway believes that a storm drain backed up into the water treatment facility’s clear well reservoir during last week’s storm. This was an isolated incident – not related to any planned future capital improvement projects.
“The City is securing the stormwater outlet to eliminate any future backflow occurrences. The City is also draining a section of the reservoir in order to isolate the area affected and disinfect it. Crews will flush the water distribution system to ensure that its ready to bring the water system back online.”
Vaus said the only thing missing from the posting was mention of the valve. City Manager Chris Hazeltine later called it a door that had gotten stuck in an open position.
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The posting also said that tests continue to show the water is meeting acceptable drinking standards, but the boil-water advisory remains until the state says otherwise.
Since the problem began, Vaus added, workers have been systematically flushing water lines in the city to get rid of any residue. Once the state lifts the advisory, he said, it shouldn’t take long to get clear water flowing again. Vaus said he hopes the boil-water alert will be removed Tuesday, but said it could be extended until Wednesday.
The health department’s order to close all food facilities is having a big impact on local businesses.
“I’m sitting here in my empty restaurant doing some paperwork,” said John Lingham, the longtime owner of the popular The Original Pancake House near the intersection of Pomerado and Twin Peaks Road.
“I was just telling my wife last week that we were having a great November and kicking off December with an additional weekend day and the holiday season. Things were looking up, looking great, then this thing hits you.”
Lingham said he fears the water alert is going to be a terrible financial event for the city, especially if it lasts much longer.
“Most of my employees are young people with rents and the holidays coming up,” he said. “That’s what I’m worried about. And I think it’s going to have a ripple effect throughout Poway (as customers go elsewhere).”
Mike Pasulka, owner of Player’s Sports Grill near Walmart and the DMV office, said he had to shut down Saturday night and missed all the Sunday NFL-viewing business, not to mention Monday Night football.
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“We don’t know how long this will last, which is really the frustrating part,” Pasulka said. “Right now I’m going through all of my food that is on the verge of spoilage and making a list for insurance, if there is insurance for this kind of thing, which I’m not sure there is.”
On the flip side, he said, even though the situation is frustrating he thinks it’s a good idea to err on the side of caution.
“It’s better to lose a little money than have an entire town get sick,” he said.
Boiling water for at least one minute kills bacteria and other organisms that might be present. Until the alert is lifted, people should only use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and preparing food.
Free cases of bottled watered have been given to residents from a distribution center at Lake Poway on Sunday and at City Hall on Civic Center Drive on Monday.
How much water? “About a million aches and pains of water,” Vaus said moments after putting another case in someone’s trunk and then rubbing his back. “We’re going through it just as fast as people can drive through.”
Water will continue to be given out to residents between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. at both locations every day until the alert has been lifted, officials said.
More than a dozen schools in Poway were impacted by the alert, but held classes Monday with bottled water on hand since all water fountains had been turned off. Families were also asked to pack water bottles for their students. Food that required water was prepared by the district at locations not connected to Poway’s water pipes.
A Poway Unified School District spokeswoman said thing went smoothly Monday and the same arrangements will be in place Tuesday and for as long as they are needed.
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