STARKVILLE — City officials say that by Nov. 14 they’ll have the proper staff to make significant headway in reducing incidents of brown water in the city’s supply.
The city Tuesday approved the second of two hires for a hydrant flushing crew, which will isolate certain quadrants of the city and flush bad water in one direction toward the outskirts of the city.
“Now that we’ve got the personnel hired, we’re getting all the addresses where the calls are coming from, putting them on a map and getting an idea of where to get started,” said Doug Devlin, public services director. “Unidirectional flushing is the solution a lot of other cities are using. It was just a matter of getting the people here.”
Starkville’s water woes started in the spring with sporadic reports of rust-colored water. Increased chlorine levels mandated by the Mississippi Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency caused increased oxidation of iron deposits in some of the city’s lines. The dingy water, which city officials said was safe to use, became more prevalent during the summer.
The city had been providing relief by flushing water mains, but by August the calls were so frequent Devlin knew he had to hire more crew members.
“We really regret the inconvenience this has caused our customers,” Devlin said. “We take pride in delivering top-notch service with a top-notch product. This has been painful for me personally, knowing our customers haven’t received the best product possible.”
Devlin said the new flushing routine will get rid of the iron deposits that are currently in the system. But with old iron pipes in certain parts of the city — like North Jackson and North Montgomery Streets — it’s hard to determine if and when more deposits will be loosened. Additionally, line breaks, which are common in summer, could stir up iron deposits. Having two crew extra crew members will help the city take a proactive approach in dealing with the issue.
Starkville’s water source is an aquifer, and traces of iron occur naturally. The water is processed through sand filters at the city’s treatment facility before it is pumped through city pipes. The iron deposits that are turning the water brown are exclusively caused by older pipes, Devlin said.
“Once you got iron in your system, the only thing you can do to rid it is to flush it out,” said Keith Allen, director of environmental health at the MDH. “You can make it a lot better, but you never get completely rid of it. There are other water systems throughout the state that deal with discolored water from iron and manganese. They all handle it the same way.”
Tuesday, during the Starkville Board of Aldermen meeting, Hotel Chester owner David Mollendor requested the city adjust his bill to account for more than $18,000 of overages incurred by flushing his system nine times over a three-month span. The board declined action, citing dangerous precedent and state law that prohibits providing free utilities and/or forgiving debts to the municipality.
Once the concentrated flushing begins, service in some areas may experience darker water for up to an hour. Water should be clear by then, and the frequency of brown water spells should decrease.
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