Weather Remained Relentless

Another half-foot of rain has left Lincoln County soil super-saturated, full of slides, leaning trees and a ‘squish squish squish’ that won’t go away for a while. Rain returns to the forecast Sunday. The latest storm followed the 12-inch deluge through January 19 that ended any idea this winter would be unusually dry. As of this writing, Toledo has received more than 18 inches of rain this month. The average is 15.11 inches. The respite allows municipal and county emergency an opportunity to regroup, resupply and review what went right and what can be done better.

The recent storms prompted a shutdown of the Toledo Water District’s freshwater treatment plant. The water coming into the city’s Mill Creek Reservoir was simply too turbid to treat and conservation was urged in Toledo and Seal Rock. City officials stressed that tap water being provided during that time was completely safe; it had already been treated and was in storage. There was just a period when it wasn’t possible to make more. Toledo used the crisis as an opportunity to test and use its recently-acquired portable water treatment facility, which can provide more than 7,500 gallons of drinkable water a day.

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