AUB’S FALL FLUSH OF WATER LINES SET FOR TUESDAY, OCT. 5
Crews from Athens Utilities Board (AUB) will flush water lines and fire hydrants throughout the city beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5, weather permitting. The work should be finished by early evening.
AUB spokesman Wayne Scarbrough said that starting midday is something the board has done for two years successfully and safely. In past years, crews did the work overnight.
“Having all of the guys working in the daylight, as opposed to overnight, has proven beneficial,” Scarbrough said.
“We were at first a little concerned to have the work going on midday, but it has shown multiple benefits from being safer for crews to saving money for the utility’s ratepayers by requiring less overtime,” he said.
In addition to the safety advantage of working during the day, the workers’ ability to observe water clarity as they flush the system is significantly improved.
“It is more challenging to verify all of their work when they are doing it only by headlamps. Working midday really improves the verification after flushing a line that the water has fully cleared before closing the hydrant,” Scarbrough said.
Flushing water distribution lines is preventive maintenance that ensures clean, sediment-free water year-round.
Flushing all hydrants will involve teams of AUB crewmembers that will begin work simultaneously at various points throughout the system. Crews will open each hydrant on the system for several minutes, until they verify that the water is clean with minimal sediment. Some hydrants may remain open longer, at a “lazy stream” pace, for several hours depending on their position in the system.
The effort will continue throughout the evening until all hydrants have been flushed. Work should be complete by around 9 p.m.
AUB urges area residents to keep these things in mind during the afternoon and into nighttime hours:
- During the flushing, residents may experience times of low water pressure due to the loss of head pressure in the AUB reservoirs that supply water to the system. Low water pressure will likely begin from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and may come and go as various areas are flushed. A pump will run continuously at AUB’s water plant to help keep as much water in supply reservoirs as possible, but low-pressure periods in some areas during the work are likely.
- In the afternoon and overnight when the work is finished, some areas may have slightly cloudy water. This is typical and primarily is the result of small entrained air bubbles that will dissipate with time. Some cloudiness may be the result of sediment being washed free of the lines by the high-velocity, high-volume water circulated through the system.
- Because of the possibility of sediment in the water, area residents should avoid washing clothes during the work, and especially on the night following the work. Washing during these time periods could result in clothes that are dingy or discolored.
To protect streams and aquatic life, AUB uses a compound called sodium thiosulfate to neutralize chlorine in the higher-than-normal volume of water that is drained from the system in a relatively short period.
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