Water Curtailment Summer of 2021...

The Level 1 Curtailment in the Summer of 2021 was brought on by drought which led to low flows in the Molalla River, the City's sole water source...

The issue in the Summer of 2021 was that the source water in the Molalla River was getting dangerously close to falling below the intakes, but never did. If water falls below the intakes, there is no ability to take in water to process, so regardless of population, there would be no water available to treat. So, the city was being extremely cautious to ensure no water shortage would ensue by keeping the tanks full and asking customers to limit use.

The City has the Capacity to make substantially more water than needed, about 4 million gallons per day with average use of around 1 million gallons per day in the high use months.

The City currently has the ability to store about 2 million gallons of treated water, or about 2 days supply in high use months (more with some minor curtailment measures).

The City is currently working on several projects to create resiliency in every area of the water system. These projects will ensure the supply of water to your tap is sustainable for many years to come. The Molalla Current team will provide bi-weekly updates to this page that outlines the efforts being made. Make sure you check in to the Current to see what's going on!