Monterey Getting New Water Pressure Alert System

The Monterey Water Department will be installing a new system that will notify city officials when water tank levels begin to drop.

Director Duane Jarrett said the equipment will hopefully prevent water loss situations similar to the one that occurred nearly three weeks ago.

“It’s a stand-alone system that will alert us a lot more quickly when the tank pressures get low,” Jarrett said. “It’s on the cellular network so it will come straight to our cell phone at night. The other system required us to be here and staffed to see the tank levels.”

Jarrett said the new system could have prevented some of the issues that occurred during last month’s water main break.

“Probably 99-percent sure we wouldn’t have had to do the water boil advisory,” Jarrett said. “It would have called us and alerted us in time to get out there and get everything valved off.”

The Monterey Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Monday night to purchase the systems for the water tanks on Peters Avenue and Industrial Drive.

“Peters Avenue has two tanks tied together and Industrial has one,” Jarrett said. “If any of those get low enough, it will call us on our cell phones at home and we can come out and respond a lot quicker.”

The system will cost the city about $14,000 and should be installed within the next four to six weeks.