Brown water from tap and in tubs result of hydrant flushing

Flushing ends October 29

Brown+water+from+tap+and+in+tubs+result+of+hydrant+flushing

By Regina Clarkin

Residents are concerned about brown water showing up in their sinks and toilets and taking to social media to question what’s happening.  City Water and Sewer Superintendent David Rambo says it’s because his department is flushing some 30 hydrants throughout the city nearly every day for the month of October. By the time the routine maintenance ends, 250 hydrants will have been flushed.

This ad ran in the Journal News daily newspaper, is posted on the city website and on social media according to David Rambo.

“It’s iron that is stirred up by flushing,” said Rambo. “We’re doing a good thing by flushing out the hydrants but it leads to a bad thing which is the discoloration of water.”  The way to remedy that is to run cold water for awhile until the water becomes clear again. In April, the city flushed its other 250 hydrants.

Screen shot taken from Instagram account showing discolored water in bathtub.

Posts on the Instagram site Peekskill Problems showed a bathtub that had sediment in it and questioned whether it was safe to bathe a child in it. Rambo posed the question:  “Would you bathe your child in a puddle?” But he said the water is safe to drink and that it “meets or exceeds” sanitary codes and regulations.