City still working on water quality
Sep. 9—PLATTSBURGH — City of Plattsburgh Environmental Services staff continue to work on clearing up the city's water supply.
"I know it's frustrating and a lot of people who have experienced this have been vocal and they should be," Mayor Chris Rosenquest said Friday.
Rosenquest said the city will continue to flush the system and test the water to find out exactly what has caused discoloration over the past few weeks.
But flushing the system can cause temporary changes to water color and some city users might still have some discolored water during the process.
The city urges people to wait an hour if they have discolored water, and they run the water some more to see if it has cleared up.
The city said that the state Department of Health and the Clinton County Health Department testing shows that the water is fit for consumption, but realize that some people might not be comfortable using it until it clears up.
Environmental Services staff are actively returning calls and will continue to do so. Given the current call volume it may take a couple of days before residents hear back from staff if they have requested a call back.
Please direct calls and questions to 518-563-1188 and leave a voicemail or please email us at cityinfo@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov with your phone number, address and date and time you've experienced this issue and the city will respond as soon as they can.
"We're aware this is an inconvenience and are working diligently to clear the system. Thank you for your patience during this challenging time, a news release said.
City Environmental Services Manager Jon Ruff also sent a note to residents regarding the water situation.
"I realize the discolored water has been annoying and causing anxiety amongst our residents," Ruff wrote."
"I'm sorry about that and I share your feelings as well. Our water management staff have been battling this situation for about a month now and are very frustrated that it hasn't cleared up sooner. They are working around the clock trying to provide you with water that's safe and appealing."
WHAT WE KNOW
The discolored water started appearing about a month ago.
"We immediately increased the number of bacteria samples collected to make sure the water was adequately disinfected and safe to use. All tests were good. All tests are still good. Since that time we've brought in treatment experts, chemical specialists, scuba divers, and the County and State health departments," Ruff said.
"We feel we narrowed down the main cause of the problem to some fine sediment in the storage tanks that would get drawn out during high usage. That being said, here's where we're at. The treated water and water coming out of the storage tank is free of contaminants.
Now we need to flush the distribution system to get rid of the fine sediment that may be in the pipes. This will take at least a couple weeks."
Ruff said that unfortunately, flushing can rile the system up for a while causing more discolored water.
"There's really no way to avoid this. However, the more flushing that occurs, the better the situation should get," he said.
All tests show the water is fit for consumption, however, if your water is clearly brown or doesn't seem right, it's probably best to avoid consuming it until it clears up, Ruff said.
The city is working on handling all of the calls and will continue to do so.
"If you have questions, or really want to speak to someone, we ask that you email us at: info@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov.," Ruff said.
Rosenquest said the city will do its best to keep residents informed.
"We are leveraging every single community outlet we have so people know what we are doing," he said.
E-mail: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
Twitter: @jlotemplio
