Hydrant Flushing
Discolored water is the result of the groundwater containing excessive amounts of the mineral manganese. Manganese is naturally present in all groundwater throughout New England. Up until recently, we tried controlling the build up of manganese in the water mains by performing hydrant flushing in the spring and in the fall. This has become less and less effective as water demand has increased. In 2006, Town Meeting approved funding to construct a water filtration plant which will eliminate iron and manganese from entering the water distribution system. The filtration plant is scheduled to become operational in 2008.
Generally, discolored water is a short term event, but occasionally a longer term disruption can be caused by a large sudden usage of water such as a fire fighting, water main break, hydrant flushing, construction activities or unauthorized usage. Steps that homeowners should take are as follows:
- If possible, wait for the water to settle down, especially if there has been a large scale disruption.
- Run your water from an outside hose spigot. When this is not possible during the winter months, run water from the closest faucet from where the water service enters your home. Try not to run water in your kitchen or in upstairs bathrooms. This will help prevent the plugging up of faucet aerators and toilet valves.
- If you have white laundry that gets discolored, the DPW has a chemical we give to residents free of charge that will remove the stains from your laundry.
- If you have repeated occurrences of discolored water, you should look into purchasing an inexpensive water filter for the short term until the water filtration plant is completed.
