EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — Emergency water restrictions were put into place after officials said they received reports of a man entering a pipe, CBS Sacramento reports. Search and rescue crews were called in to help find the man reported missing Monday evening.
“This is the first time this has ever happened. We’ve had this facility in the district since the 50s,” said Jesse Saich, spokesman for the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID).
The pipe the man reportedly fell into is around 48 inches in diameter and spans about a mile and a half. It is the EID’s Camino Conduit pipe that carries water from Jenkinson Lake to a water treatment plant.
“Extraordinarily scary and our hearts go out to this man and his family and we hope that we can retrieve this man,” said Saich.
The search for the man curtailed some of the water delivery in the El Dorado Irrigation District, prompting calls for users to cut back on non-essential water use, such as dish washing and laundry.
“That plant potentially could serve folks all the way from college planes where they’re at all the way down to El Dorado Hills,” Saich said.
There are no contamination issues related to the search, since the pipe is a raw pipe that feeds into the treatment plant for the water to be processed.
Investigators said the man entered through a vent on top of the pipe. He had not been located as of Monday evening and it was unclear if he was still alive.
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire crews were aiding the search.
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