The Estero Municipal Improvement District has announced that it will temporarily shut down Foster City’s water transmission main from Saturday, March 21 through Tuesday, March 31, 2009 to facilitate scheduled repairs to the system.

To minimize water consumption, the District is requesting that water customers refrain from using water for outside landscaping during the shutdown period. All customers are urged to shut-off the irrigation timers until construction is complete.

Water customers may experience some brown water coming out of their faucets during the week of the shutdown. Although the water is safe to drink, it may be necessary to run the tap for a few minutes to remove any discolored water.

The water main shutdown is required to facilitate the replacement of aging water valves as part of Capital Improvement Project (CIP) 760. This main supplies water to residents in all of Foster City and the Mariner’s Island area of San Mateo. During the shutdown, Foster City/EMID will utilize back-up water supply sources which include the District’s water storage tanks and emergency water main connections with the cities of Belmont and San Mateo.

Although secondary supply sources are sufficient to satisfy the domestic water needs of all customers on a temporary basis, irrigation activities, which are heavy water users, can place a heavy burden on the back-up system. The project is intentionally scheduled during a time of year that irrigation consumption is normally the lowest. With reductions in the amount of water used for irrigation, adequate water supply will be available for normal domestic use and no further reduction will be required.

For more information about this project, contact Assistant Engineer Laura Galli at (650) 286-3280.