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Council asks for study session on water supply and fire flow after wildfire concerns
Summary
Council members asked staff to schedule a study session on water supply and fire-flow capacity for firefighting. City Manager Mark Ziegler said reservoir studies and backup power at well sites are underway but that wildfire-scale demands remain a separate challenge.
A council member requested a study session on water supply and fire-flow capacity during the Jan. 14 study session, citing recent wildfire activity elsewhere and local preparedness concerns. The council member asked whether staff could present on how much water the city could put on fires in downtown and at the urban-forest edge.
City Manager Mark Ziegler said the city is completing reservoir studies that will inform water needs for residential and commercial development but that those studies do not directly solve extreme wildfire scenarios. “It’s on everybody’s minds right now,” he said, referring to wildfire activity in California. Ziegler added that storage and supply are distinct issues: reservoirs must be replenished by wells or runoff to be useful in an extended emergency.
Ziegler described steps the city is taking to improve resiliency: redundancy at well sites and backup generation so wells can continue filling reservoirs if power lines fail during storms, wind events or other emergencies. “We have power supply at our wells. So it does continue to fill our reservoir,” he said.
No formal direction, study-session date or staff assignment was adopted on Jan. 14. Council members asked staff to prepare a study-session briefing that would include the reservoir-study findings and options for improving fire-flow capacity and supply redundancy.
