Colfax Residents Asked To Conserve Water After Canal Break

COLFAX, Calif. (AP) -- Placer County water officials are asking residents and businesses to cut back on their water use after a failure in a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. canal.

Officials say a landslide in a canyon around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday caused a sidewall to break in the Bear River Canal, a canal in a remote area near Colfax.

The Placer County Water Agency uses the canal for some of the water it supplies to about 150,000 homes and businesses in parts of the county.

The agency's general manager, David Breninger, told the Sacramento Bee that officials are taking steps to have water sent from other agencies to help make up for part of the shortage.

PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno says because the canal is located in a steep and remote area, it would be a "few days" before the utility could provide an estimate when the canal would be repaired.

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