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Christmas Valley residents asked to flush water lines after food-grade oil leak

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Residents in Christmas Valley are being asked to flush their water lines after the South Tahoe Public Utility District had a mechanical problem.

According to a press release, 1 gallon of food-grade oil leaked into the 200,000 gallon water tank.

The oil floated to the top of the tank where it was discovered by staff during a routine inspection the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 11, and the tank was immediately taken out of service.



“We don’t believe that the food-grade oil entered the distribution system, as oil floats on top of water and water is drawn from the bottom of the tank” said Chris Stanley, Manager of Field Operations, in the release. 

The district’s laboratory collected water samples from the distribution system and houses surrounding the tank and expects to have results by Tuesday. 



As a precaution, the district recommends residents in the Christmas Valley area flush their water lines by running faucets and bathtubs for 3 to 5 minutes and dumping out ice in the freezer. 

The district’s lab is asking Christmas Valley residents to call 530-543-6231 if there have been any issues recently with the water.


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