Santa Cruz facing water crisis after pipeline damaged during storm

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) -- The city of Santa Cruz is facing a water crisis after a critical piece of water infrastructure was damaged Monday.

The Newell Creek Pipeline sustained damage early Monday causing a 1,500 gallon-per-minute leak, forcing city officials to shut it down. The repairs are expected to take days to fix, and residents in Santa Cruz are being urged to cut back on water usage. "We ask our customers to please cut back when using water for essential uses like bathing and cooking," Water Director Rosemary Menard said.

Residents were also being asked to hold off on any non-essential uses like laundry, or automatic dishwashers until the issue is resolved.

All of Santa Cruz's water supply is local, but when powerful storms such as this weekend's cause the water sources to become too turbid to treat, the city switches to water from the Loch Lomond Reservoir. The damaged pipeline is the city's main source of water pulled from the Loch Lomond Reservoir.

Residents will be advised when the pipeline is repaired.