I have seen work crews cleaning water mains and the water they flush out looks terrible. How can the water be safe if the pipes are so dirty?
DC WASA’s distribution system contains many pipes made out of iron. Most of these pipes have a thin film of rust and a thin biofilm layer containing harmless microbes along the inside wall. Buildup of this material may cause the tap water to be discolored. DC WASA has a regular program of flushing and cleaning the distribution pipes. When all of this material is removed from several miles of pipe and it comes out of a fire hydrant all at once, it looks really dirty at the beginning of the procedure. If you watch our workers flush, you will notice that the water clears up rather quickly.
Related Questions
- I have seen work crews cleaning water mains and the water they flush out looks terrible. How can the water be safe if the pipes are so dirty?
- I have seen work crews cleaning watermains and the water they flush out looks terrible. How can the water be safe if the pipes are so dirty?
- My water looks and smells awful, but the water department says it safe, how can that be?
