Water Discoloration Update
1/6—Water Discoloration AFTERNOON Update
ECCV crews have completed a flush of water mains in the portions of the water system that were experiencing water discoloration. This work cleared the discolored water out of the mains and flowed clear water into them. Customers should be starting to see the discoloration go away, and it will continue to do so as customer use and continued spot flushing removes the remaining discolored water from the system.
If your water has not started to clear, run a faucet on cold for 15-20 minutes, or until it runs clear, whichever comes first. If noticeable discoloration continues into the morning tomorrow, (Saturday 1/7) please contact ECCV at 303-693-3800 or info@eccv.org and provide your address. The business office will be closed over the weekend, but on-call crews will be available to conduct spot flushing if needed.
We apologize again for the inconvenience this caused, and very much appreciate your patience while crews worked to clear out this discolored water. Thank you again.
1/6—Water Discoloration MORNING Update
ECCV crews are back at work completing a flush of water mains in areas impacted by discolored water. The final segments of mains to be flushed are in the Greenfield and Saddle Rock Ranches neighborhoods. We expect this work to be completed this morning.
Crews will then focus on spot flushing in areas where notable discoloration is still being reported. If you continue to experience strong discoloration in your water, ECCV recommends taking the following steps.
First, allow a faucet to run on cold for up to 15 minutes. This will help remove remaining discolored water from neighborhood lines. If the water does not begin to clear, turn off the faucet and give the ECCV customer service team a call at 303-693-3800. We will work to get our team to your area as additional flushing may be required.
If you're seeing slight discoloration in your water, continue to monitor it throughout the day. This is likely a result of naturally occurring minerals being stirred up by flushing and should go away in the next day.
If you have additional questions about your water, please contact ECCV at 303-693-3800, email info@eccv.org, or live chat with a customer service representative at www.eccv.org. Thank you for your continued patience. We believe this discoloration issue is close to being resolved, and we will provide another update this afternoon.
1/5—Water Discoloration AFTERNOON Update
ECCV crews have made good progress flushing discolored water out of main lines. Water is now starting to run clear within 30 minutes (compared to several hours yesterday) when a hydrant is flushed. ECCV anticipates the majority of discolored water will be out of the system by this evening. Additional flushing operations will likely be needed tomorrow morning in Greenfield, Saddle Rock Ranches, and areas north of Quincy Avenue. Crews will also be conducting spot flushing in some areas. Please review the following information for what customers can expect in the next 24 hours.
Customers in Greenfield, Saddle Rock Ranches, and areas north of Quincy may still experience more noticeable water discoloration until flushing can be completed tomorrow. Customers in all other areas should start to see discoloration begin to decrease.
While water is largely running clear in main lines, discolored water may still be present in neighborhood lines. If your water remains discolored, run a faucet on cold until it clears, or for 15 minutes, whichever comes first. It's important to note that main line flushing often creates temporary, slight discoloration. This is due to large amounts of water being moved through the system which stirs up natural minerals in the water. This faint discoloration from the flush should go away in 24 hours as the system returns to normal flows.
Customers who are still experiencing strong discoloration tomorrow morning should contact ECCV at 303-693-3800. Additional spot flushing may be necessary in your neighborhood.
We will provide another update tomorrow morning as crews resume flushing operations. Your patience continues to be appreciated, and we apologize for the inconvenience.
1/5—Water Discoloration MORNING Update
ECCV crews resumed flushing water mains this morning to remove discolored water from the system. Early reports from crews indicate the water is starting to run clear faster than it was yesterday. That's an encouraging sign that the discolored water is being effectively removed from mains.
If water continues to clear at its current rate, we expect to complete flushing of mains in impacted areas today. We will provide another progress update this afternoon. Thank you for your patience as we work to get this issue resolved as soon as possible.
1/4—Water Discoloration Update (Afternoon)
ECCV crews are making good progress flushing discolored water out of main lines. Our team conducted spot flushing over the weekend and moved on to main lines both yesterday and throughout the day today. We want to be sure lines are thoroughly cleared of discolored water, and in some areas, this has resulted in longer than anticipated hydrant flushing. Crews will continue to remove as much discolored water as possible from the system but will have to suspend operations in the next couple of hours due to dropping temperatures. As a result, additional flushing will be needed throughout the morning, particularly on water mains serving Smoky Ridge, Parkview, and southern portions of Copperleaf.
The increased flushing activity is moving a lot of water through the system and it is possible customers will continue to experience discoloration, even if none has previously been present, in the next 24 hours. This discoloration is due to naturally occuring iron and manganese being stirred up in the water. We anticipate completing this work tomorrow and will provide a further update here on Nextdoor as work nears completion. We apologize for the additional delay, and appreciate your continued patience.
1/4—Water Discoloration Update (A.M.)
ECCV crews are continuing to flush water mains in areas experiencing discolored water. We expect this work to have water running clear for most customers by this evening.
We've received a number of questions on what's causing the discoloration. Water from deep aquifer wells within the District contains naturally occurring iron and manganese. These minerals are safe to consume, and most of the time, do not impact the appearance or taste of the water. Over time, these minerals can also settle in water lines. This is why ECCV conducts an annual flushing of the water system each spring. Recent maintenance activity on the system required a temporary reversal of flows in a portion of the system which likely caused settled minerals to get stirred up.
We'll be providing another update on our progress to get this discolored water flushed from the system this afternoon. Thank you again for your patience. We appreciate it, and are sorry for the inconveniences this issue has caused.