Everyone hooked up to the City of Langley water system is being asked to limit their water use due to a main well pump malfunction.

Mayor Fred McCarthy sent out a notice Monday alerting residents and business owners to restrict outdoor and other unnecessary water usage.

According to the public notification, a well pump failure alarm went off Saturday, June 27. The Langley Public Works water department staff responded to the alarm and discovered that there was a mechanical issue with the pump, which pulls water to the 600,000 gallon tank.

Located 280 feet underground, addressing the problem isn’t as simple as fixing a leaky faucet. A repair service is scheduled to bring the pump to the surface.

Public Works Director Stan Berryman said a contractor from Seattle is scheduled to replace the unit Thursday. Langley had planned to replace the main well pump, which collects 500 gallons per minute, in 2016.

Berryman said he did not know what went wrong or how old it is.

“It’s a mechanical piece of equipment and they do age out,” he said.

A pair of additional wells with limited capacity were activated and are running 24 hours a day to meet demand. They run 90 and 75 gallons per minute, totaling about a quarter of the broken pump’s capacity.

Langley’s daily average use is 125,000 gallons. Berryman said the city wanted the replacement in ahead of the July 4 Independence Day holiday weekend, when water usage can easily double.

“We want to get the main pump back in service as soon as we can,” Berryman said.

“But it isn’t a total crisis emergency. The tank holds 600,000 gallons,” he added.

“Until repairs can be made we ask that you limit your outdoor and other unnecessary water usage,” the notice reads.

While the public notification does not specifically forbid or list any activities, some common outdoor water uses such as lawn sprinklers, pools, and car washing were agreed to by Berryman as examples of “unnecessary.”