Throughout the day today SooToday.com has been getting calls and emails from people in the East End.
They're quite ticked off about the water flowing from their taps.
It's brown.
Very brown, they report.
One grandfather said he had to run out and buy bottled water so he could make formula for his infant grandchild.
Dominic Parrella, PUC vice president of operations and engineering, says the sediment appearing in East End water supply is not a danger to public safety or health but it is pretty unappealing.
The sediment was scrubbed out of the pipes and flushed into people's homes when PUC started its seasonal hydrant flushes and flow test checks.
This causes the water in the pipes to flow in directions it's not ordinarily flowing, he said.
"We didn't expect this level of sediment disturbance this early in the process," said Parrella. "We were flushing a bit too aggressively."
The hydrant flush is a yearly part of ongoing maintenance on the water system and it goes on in different areas throughout the spring and summer, he said.
In past years the PUC flushed the hydrants at a lower flow rate so not as much sediment was stirred up.
But this year PUC staff wanted to get it done faster to avoid any prolonged unpleasant tastes or smells in the water.
"We're flowing at lower volumes and hope to have this cleared up by this evening," said Parrella. "If people see any discolouration in their water they should let it run for about five or 10 minutes to clear it up."
PUC is also wondering if the switch from cloramine to free clorine water disinfection may have been a contributing factor in the larger than expected amount of sediment that was stirred up in the flush.
"It is possible," said Parrella. "We're looking at that. The free chlorine does burn off the build up in the pipes a little more aggressively than the chloramine did."
The full text of a release from PUC follows.
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Brown water complaints east end of city
This information is provided in response to the inquiries received from water customers regarding discoloured water coming from their taps this afternoon (April 3).
This is not a health related issue.
The discolouration is the result of a change in direction of water flowing in the distribution system that results from flushing of distribution pipes.
Flushing sometimes stirs up pre-existing sediment that results from internal corrosion of cast iron pipes, causing the sediment to remain suspended for some time. In most cases the discolouration will clear up with 15 to 20 minutes of flushing.
PUC flushes the entire distribution system each year as part of its regular maintenance program utilizing fire hydrants across the city. Discoloured water is a common occurrence of system flushing operations.
This year, PUC started the annual flushing in the east end of the city on Monday April 2.
If you have flushed your household plumbing for at least 20 minutes and are still experiencing discoloured water, please call PUC Customer Service at 705-759-6522 during normal hours and 705-759-6555 after hours.
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