From the City of Benicia:
Benicia, CA (March 29, 2023 — Effective immediately, all Benicia residents and businesses are required to conserve water due to damage to the City’s main water line that delivers all drinking water to the City of Benicia. The damage occurred when a hillside collapsed near I-680 and Gold Hill Road, just outside Benicia city limits. The slope failure caused a brief closure of I-680 today.
Benicia Public Works crews and various contractors are onsite and actively working to determine the extent of damage to the water line which delivers drinking water to Benicia.
The City has implemented a Stage 4 “Critical Water Shortage” alert which requires all residences, businesses, community organizations, schools, hotels and others to reduce water use by up to 40 percent. Some activities to reduce water usage include:
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Take shorter showers
Use dishwashers and washing machines with full loads only
“We recognize we are asking a lot of our residents, businesses and community members,” said Mario Giuliani, Interim City Manager. “This is an extraordinary situation requiring urgent action to reduce water consumption. Our crews are working to determine the extent of the damage to the line that delivers our drinking water. We are asking that residents and businesses conserve water and be patient.”
Benicia relies on water from Lake Herman as a secondary source and will access this water during the closure of the damaged line. Water from Lake Herman may have an earthy taste or odor in tap water during this time. This is due to naturally occurring compounds such as organic carbon. This drinking water still meets or exceeds all State and Federal requirements for safe drinking water.
The City will send regular information about this situation through the news media, email news, City social media channels and more through this situation. To receive emergency notifications, sign up for Alert Solano at www.AlertSolano.com.
