Thanks to all our members, especially those served by the leaking line who had to put up with two water shutdowns and two boil water notices.
MWC went from using 60 gallons per minute overnight to using only 9 gallons per minute.
Thank you to everyone who conserved water while we found and fixed this leak.
Please keep in mind the very low snowpack we received last winter. Even with this upcoming storm we are way behind that proverbial 8-ball.
Although we have water now, as we move into summer creek flows will decrease, and we may experience drought conditions. Plan now to use less water this summer.
Unfortunately, this spring is not the time for planting anything that will need extra water this summer.
Our water conservation measures remain in effect.
Click here, or on the Water Conservation Policies link at the top of this page, for those specific guidelines.
We are now producing water and the tanks are full!
It took a bit of work to clear the mud, silt and sand from the system, due to last week’s thunderstorm activity, but that work was completed yesterday.
We do ask that members refrain from outdoor watering this week in order to give the entire system time to equalize.
Anyone in the downtown area that needs to hose down or power wash their residence or business, however, is free to do so.
Thank you for your conservation efforts over this past week, and for your continued efforts over the next few days.
Thanks to our intrepid volunteers, including locals, Nevadans, CalFire and Ca Conservation Corp members, we had a successful three (3) days of restoration.
Some of the team doing a bit of seeding. The Musser & Jarvis Creek can be seen just behind them.
Each of the three (3) days brought us approximately 30 volunteers, who focused on seeding the slopes, and chinking trees, in the watershed, in order to lessen the effects of erosion and mitigate debris flowing into the creek. Editors note: The image at the top of this post is only of one crew, this particular troup was on site last Sunday.
Chinking? You ask…I (Mark) had not heard the term before last Sunday but based on what I can tell it is derived from log cabin building and the filling in of the spaces between the logs with a mortar of some sort.
As it relates to erosion mitigation it’s about filling in the upslope side of a felled tree (felled parallel to the creek) with rocks and dirt in order to capture sediment and re-direct water flow.
A video of the operation, including a look at some chinking.
A special shout out to the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce and its Tamarack Fire Assistance Fund. It was that fund that allowed us to purchase the wattles and the seed.
Andy Lovell, and the Alpine Trails Association, helped out with tools expertise.
Mary Young, our President, and the First Gentleman, Bill Young, also deserve a shout out. They spent countless hours doing reconnaissance on the watershed, developing the plan and most importantly “herding the cats” to get the work done.
We should also mention Kimra and Sierra, from the Alpine Watershed Group. Their expertise and direction was such a plus!
The BIGGEST shout out, however, goes to you, dear volunteer. We wish we could name you all but the post would be too long if we did.
WE ARE SO THANKFUL! The Water Co., and the community as a whole, is lucky to have you.
This weekend we’ll be laying wattles, and seeding the area, around the Musser & Jarvis watershed (which supplies Markleeville’s water) to help restore burn areas from the Tamarack Fire.
If you’re a MWC Member this is a great opportunity for you to learn more about the watershed that serves your water needs and more importantly, it’s a chance for you to contribute to the ongoing health of your watershed.
Please note the various requirements on the flyer above (masks to carpool, PPE required, 18+ only, etc.)
At Markleeville Water Company’s request the Forest Service is removing eight (8) burned trees from around the Pleasant Valley water tank. If these trees were allowed to remain there is a danger of the trees falling on the tank. This would put the tank out of service and we estimate it would be well over a year before it could be placed back in service.
This water tank provides all of Marklee Village and Thornburg subdivisions with drinking water and fire protection. Living without this tank is not an option for us. These trees truly are a hazard to our water supply and without a water supply we cannot inhabit our homes.
Please do not complain to, or harass the crews doing the tree removal. They are protecting your water supply.
For more information, please email us at markleevillewatercompany@gmail.com.
As some of you may already know, the leak has been stopped! It’s actually been about 10 days since the work was done and and as you’ll see if you’re in town we still have a couple markers out on the road. By the way, this was the 7th repair we’ve made in the last year or so. Ouch!
Kudos to our intrepid crew for keeping things flowing.
This “sleeve” was installed in order to seal the leak. We then left the hole open for short period of time to ensure there was no more water coming from the pipe. It was then filled with “fill.” Go figure!
We’ll give it awhile for the traffic, and nature, to tamp things down a bit and then later this summer the pavement will be repaired.
On a related note, we’ve signed the planning grant agreement and are cautiously optimistic that we’ll soon be able to move forward with the planning phase of our “replacement project.” See some of our previous posts for more info. on that if you’re so inclined.
So, given time, repairs of this type will no longer be needed as our aging infrastructure will also be NO LONGER.
In the meantime, a note of thanks to all of you for doing your part and being water responsible!
Unfortunately, another leak has sprung up, this time on Hot Springs Road, near the Dean/Hittenmiller place. We’ve scheduled it for repair so please be on the lookout for our crew in the coming days.
Water leaking out onto Hot Springs Road, from our main line underneath.
We’ll post another update once the work has been completed.
Markleeville Water Company 