Possible man in pipe shuts down El Dorado water treatment plant

The El Dorado Irrigation District issued an emergency water conservation alert Monday evening after learning that someone may have fallen into its water facilities near Sly Park Dam.

A man is believed to have entered the district’s Camino Conduit pipe that carries raw water from Jenkinson Lake to a water treatment plant about 1.5 miles away, according to Jesse Saich, district spokesman. The man is believed to have entered through an air vent in the pipe below the second dam, he said.

The district immediately began to reduce the flows to the treatment plant while emergency personnel began searching for the man, Saich said.

The treatment plant provides water to the majority of the district’s service area, from Pollock Pines to El Dorado Hills. The conservation notice was issued to maintain adequate water supply, Saich said, noting that water quality is not affected by the emergency.

“Minimizing usage will reduce the potential for the water system to lose pressure or completely run out of water,” the notice said.

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Possible man in pipe shuts down El Dorado water treatment plant."