Don’t Be Alarmed If The Water In Bangor Looks A Little Cloudy

Starting next week, the Bangor Water District will be flushing out lines to remove sediment that may have built up in the water delivery system through the last few years.

"What we're trying to do is to flush any sediment that gets into the lines and the lines, over time, will just naturally get mineral deposits in the pipeline that we try to flush out."

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Vaughan Littlefield, who oversees construction for the Bangor Water District says crews will start to flush the lines on April 29th.

"So our treatment facility is in Otis, on Floods Pond, so basically we'll start flushing water mains in Clifton and Eddington before our water even crosses the Penobscot into Bangor. Once we cross the Penobscot, we work our way across the East side of Bangor, working our way towards the Thomas Hill Standpipe, which is kind of, for the lack of a better term, the air bladder for the system."

"It kind of dictates water pressure and is kind of a standpipe that drives our water system. So we try to get flushed to that point first and then we kind of spread out across the city from there."

Read More: Bangor, Maine's Thomas Hill Standpipe has Announced Tour Dates

Littlefield says it will be pretty obvious for residents as to when their particular neighborhood's lines are being flushed.

"They'll notice our crew, set up by the side of the road, hooked up to some fire hydrants, with flushing apparatus. So obviously they'll see some water on the side of the road. Usually, we try to get everything into a catch-basin, so it doesn't cause any disruptions to traffic or personal property. "

The flushing of the lines could lead some folks to notice changes in the way their water looks, Littlefield says.

"During that process, it can, temporarily, discolor water for our customers. That's why we're trying to get the word out so that people understand what's going on and why it's happening."

Littlefield says there may also be a change in how the water tastes, but that's also temporary.

"The only other side effect that happens in extremely rare conditions is you may notice a different taste to the water, but at the same time, if they flush their taps for, as a rule of thumb we say 30 minutes to try and clear the water out of the service line, that would take care of any taste issues."

Once you notice a crew near you has completed the line flush, running one cold faucet in your home for half an hour should fix whatever temporary after-effects pop up as a result of their efforts.

If residents have any concerns about the look or taste of their water, or even just the quality, Littlefield says they can simply call the Bangor Water District and they will send a water quality expert out to test the water."

Read More: Brewer, Maine Declared the Best Tasting Water In The State

He says the project will take the better part of the summer, wrapping up just as school starts.

"Usually, we start the second week in May because we have summer interns and it will last until they go back to school. So we're planning by mid-September that we'll be done."

Littlefield says the water district is hoping to let folks have a little heads up on when the line flushing will take place in their area.

"We're gonna try to keep an updated banner on the website, maybe with like a week's outlook of where we are and where we're going so specific neighborhoods will know where we'll be, so they can plan ahead."

To get updates on where the flushing of lines will occur, you can check the Bangor Water District website by clicking here.