Hayden Lake water district well fails

HAYDEN LAKE - The Hayden Lake Irrigation District is asking customers to conserve water after one of its drinking wells failed early Wednesday.

"We made it through Wednesday morning but to assure continuous water service we'd appreciate everyone's cooperation," said Alan Miller, district administrator.

He said an electrical component failure at the well caused it to shut down. The earliest some electrical components can arrive is Friday.

The district has about 2,500 water connections that serve around 6,000 people. It is asking its customers to reduce water use through the weekend.

"Most of the time we can get by with just one or two wells in the summer, but early in the morning when everybody's sprinklers come on about the same time, it takes all of them to meet that need," Miller said Wednesday.

The district's four wells can produce about four and a half million gallons of water each day, with a capacity of around 8,100 gallons a minute.

The well that is out of service can produce 1,800 gallons a minute, a fourth of the system's capacity.

There is no need to reduce water use inside homes and businesses, Miller said.

"If customers could turn off their sprinkler timers for the next two mornings it would be very helpful," department officials said.