Politics & Government
Norton in Process of Hydrant Flushing
Selectmen expressed concern about the resulting discolored water for many residents.
If your water has been discolored this week, you can blame the hydrants.
Norton's hydrant flushing program has been under way since Sunday, and the resulting discolored water for many is unsettling for some town officials.
Selectmen expressed concern at Thursday night's meeting. Chair Robert Kimball, who was particularly worried about the many areas in town affected, requested that Town Manager Michael Yunits ask water department officials to suspend hydrant flushing until it can be determined why so much sediment is resulting from this particular flushing.
"I’m concerned and disturbed about the fact that it’s town wide," Kimball said.
Robert Salvo said it was unfair for residents who had to flush out their water before using it.
"There should be some compensation to townspeople if you have to clean water there should be some kickback or rebate."
Yunits agreed with selectmen that he would discuss the issue with the water department Friday and ask that flushing be stopped until it can be further investigated. Patch will continue to update the story on Friday.
The Water Department has a semi annual water main and hydrant flushing program. Every Spring and Fall the nearly 1000 hydrants are flushed, it takes approximately ten weeks. Flushing times are Sunday through Thursday between 7:00pm and 3:00am. starting at the Easton town line working westerly towards the Attleboro town line. Daily flushing may occur Monday through Friday between 7:30am and 2:00pm if it is deemed necessary in certain areas.
Flushing involves the use of high velocity water to scour the inside surfaces of the water mains. This process allows us to flush out iron and manganese particles, however it also creates discolored water. Discoloration varies from pale yellow to dark brown and may include particles. Because the water system’s infrastructure is a continuous loop this discoloration can occur anywhere in the system during the flushing program regardless of where the hydrants are being opened.
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Therefore it is recommended that you use caution when using filtering systems, washing machines, dishwashers etc. Bottling water and keeping it on hand for your convenience is also suggested.
Find out what's happening in Nortonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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