Shake, Rattle, and Roll

By Ernest Solomon

It's a quiet, summer night. Saturday night. Boom!!! Roll!!! What the... was that? But you know--you were here in '89. Earthquake! But this one is bigger; it REALLY got your attention. The book shelves are still up. ("Glad I bolted them to the wall," you tell yourself.) Books are strewn all over the floor. The lights flicker and go out. How big was it? Where was the--what do the seismologists call it?--oh yeah, the epicenter? You stumble around, get a flashlight. Where is the kid's portable radio? In the kid's bedroom? (Strange place.)

Click. On. Preliminary report, a magnitude 7.5 on the Hayward Fault, centered near Niles. (How do they know that?) Extensive damage. The 880 is closed while damage to overpasses is being evaluated. A landslide has blocked a portion of 680 over the Sunol Grade, both directions. Powerlines are down. Pipelines are buckled. The Hetch Hetchy pipelines are badly damaged. Hetch Hetchy? Isn't that how we get our water? All the way from the Sierras? Is our water supply cut off? Oh...! You remember the reports in the newspaper--scare stories you thought-- water supplies could be cut for as much as sixty days.

So, what to do? You're lucky; you're home. It was a big shake. You don't see any obvious problems after a preliminary check of the house. No leaks--water or gas. You'll look again in the morning.

Reality check. You're reading a missive from your local water district. What's the point of all this? (Face it, the writer isn't that entertaining.) At typical summer demand, Purissima Hills Water District has a three-day supply of water. That assumes no outages and no fires. (Most of our sister districts have a one-day supply.) The first line of defense to extend our water supply after a catastrophic earthquake is YOU, the homeowner. It may not be a major event on the Hayward Fault. It could be a major earthquake on the San Andreas which damages the District's pipelines (despite our best capital improvement efforts). No, you don't have to turn off your water--unless you have a leak. BUT, turning off your yard irrigation system and being really frugal with water usage would help extend our supply until such time as the District's water supply is restored. (Now, aren't you glad you stockpiled some water in gallon jugs as part of your personal earthquake preparedness program?)

Following a major earthquake, District staff will activate the Emergency Response Plan to minimize disruptions and restore service as soon as possible, including checking for and repairing any damage. (Directors will proceed to the office to field phone calls and provide support for staff--after they turn off their own yard irrigation system.)