Staff Report.Water Service Interruption
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Parks and Public Works
Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 11/01/2022 ITEM NO: 8
DATE: October 24, 2022
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Discuss the Water Service Interruption Associated with the San Jose Water
Company Villa Avenue Improvements
RECOMMENDATION:
Discuss the water service interruption associated with the San Jose Water Company Villa
Avenue improvements.
BACKGROUND:
In June 2022, the Department of Parks and Public Works (PPW) issued an Encroachment Permit
to the San Jose Water Company (SJW) and its contractor(s) to replace aging water main lines on
Villa Avenue, Jackson Street, Highland Avenue, Los Gatos Blvd., and Alpine Avenue.
Construction started in late June and is expected to be completed in Spring 2023. SJW and its
contractors agreed to a traffic management plan and public outreach to affected residences
and businesses that was also approved by PPW.
SJW is the water utility for all of Los Gatos. It is an independent company, overseen by the
California Public Utilities Commission.
The Town has a long, collaborative relationship with SJW. This agenda item is intended to give
all parties affected by a recent water service outage an opportunity to debrief and identify
lessons learned. John Tang, SJW Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Government
Relations, will attend the Council meeting to provide additional information, answer questions,
and listen to the discussion.
PAGE 2 OF 4 SUBJECT: Water Service Interruption DATE: October 24, 2022
DISCUSSION:
On the afternoon of October 20, the contractors ruptured an unmarked water service
connected to a water main in Villa Avenue, shutting down water service to the Town Library
and residents in the vicinity. At the time, the contractors informed the Town that the repair
was expected to be complete in two to four hours. Library patrons and staff were advised to
use the restrooms at Town Hall for the remainder of the day. Town staff was unaware that
residents were affected.
Early Friday morning, Town staff learned that the repair work was not complete and that the
water service outage extended beyond the Library to 300 households, all of whom had been
without water overnight. Residents began calling the Town and seeking outage information.
Town staff reached SJW engineers mid-morning and learned that when the incident first
occurred SJW assumed it would be a relatively quick and simple repair. This is why they did not
move to emergency measures earlier. The repair proved more challenging due to the age of
the water main and its condition requiring SJW crews to work through the night.
Town staff requested that SJW contact all affected customers, make potable water available,
and offered the use of Town property as a potential distribution point.
Around 10:15 a.m., a pallet of bottled water was available on Villa Avenue and SJW was
distributing to residents that expressed need. Town Hall and PPW Offices were continuing to
get calls and residents were informed about the available water. For those residents who
requested a delivery, a specific SJW phone number was provided in addition to the SJW
customer service line. SJW was also updating its website to notify customers that bottled water
was available and to provide an estimated time for service restoration.
As Town staff answered questions by phone, residents posted that information on Nextdoor.
Residents were also informing the Town that the outage was larger than 300 households and
on streets not identified by SJW in their updates. By mid-day, two pallets of bottled water were
delivered and stored in parking places near Villa in the main Town Hall/Library parking lot. SJW
informed the Town that they had gone door to door to notify residents of the situation. SJW
began staffing the area 24 hours a day.
By 6:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, water service was restored with a boil water notice, advising
to boil the water before drinking it or using it for food preparation. The water was safe to use
for washing, cleaning, and showering. SJW staff continued to distribute water and answer
resident questions all weekend at the Town Hall/Library parking lot.
PAGE 3 OF 4 SUBJECT: Water Service Interruption DATE: October 24, 2022
DISCUSSION (continued):
Despite these efforts, residents were continuing to reach out to the Town. When Town staff
saw the map posted on the SJW website of the geographic extent of the boil water notice (see
map on the next page), SJW informed the Town that 600 customers were affected. Town staff
recognized that it needed to supplement SJW communications with its own updates to the
Town website and prepare social media messages, including the Friday What’s New email blast.
Town staff retweeted and posted the SJW boil water notice tweets/posts throughout the
weekend on Town social media channels. Subsequently, we learned that we should have
provided the geographical area so as not to unduly alarm the entire Los Gatos jurisdiction.
SJW Water Quality staff collected water quality samples from 10 locations each on Friday night
and again on Saturday night to ensure water in the affected services area meets state and
federal drinking water requirements. Sample results were submitted to the State Water
Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water, which evaluated the water quality
samples before lifting the boil water notice. The boil water notice was lifted on Monday,
October 24 around 4:30 p.m.
PAGE 4 OF 4 SUBJECT: Water Service Interruption DATE: October 24, 2022
CONCLUSION:
Emergency communications is a critical function for government and all utilities providing
critical infrastructure to the public. Town staff is updating its communication protocols in light
of this recent experience.
We look forward to hearing from Town residents, SJW, and the Town Council regarding lessons
learned from this experience. This discussion will help the Town further refine its
communications protocols to better inform residents of incidents in Los Gatos and provide
useful information as an incident is unfolding.
COORDINATION:
This agenda item was coordinated with the Department of Parks and Public Works, the Town
Manager’s Office, and the San Jose Water Company.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The discussion of the water service interruption and lessons learned has no fiscal impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
The discussion is not a project defined under the California Environmental Quality Act, and no
further action is required.