Columbia Utility spokesman says water discoloration should end soon; maintains water is safe to drink
Erika McGuire
COLUMBIA, MO. (KMIZ)
Water in Columbia still had discoloration Thursday afternoon following the recent switch from the city’s main central water line to a secondary west line.
City of Columbia Utilities Spokesman Jason West said the city made the switch Tuesday evening due to low tide. The city was originally going to close off service for a short period of time while installing a flow meter.
“Unfortunately there were some hiccups in that, to be able to not have a disruption in service we went to the secondary line and thats what caused the abnormal amount of pressure through that line, more pressure than it sees in a day” West said.
“The situation was caused by an interruption to service, moving from the main central line to the west line that is not in service as the central line,” West said.
According to West, the west line was cleaned a few months ago but more water being pushed through forced out settled sediment, including calcium and magnesium, which led to the brown discoloration.
“Now that it’s rushing water more than normal caused some sediment to come off and get into the flow so that’s what causing the discoloration, its actually more because of an update that was being made to the water treatment plant more than anything else,” West said.
The city has switched back to the central line, however the west line or “secondary line” is still in use as it feeds some parts of the city.
The discoloration should clear up toward the end of Thursday, West said.
On April 30, the city said water main flushing would happen for two weeks each day starting on May 5. But, West said that was separate from this situation.
A similar outcome is possible. The city says if you see brown water you can flush your own water lines for a few minutes or boil it.
ABC 17 News conducted a water test used a H2O Ok Drink Water Analysis Kit bought from Home Depot.
The water tested was from the kitchen sink at ABC 17 News’s office on Business Loop 70. According to its maker, LabTech, the test meets EPA standards. The first tested for total hardness, total chlorine, alkalinity, pH and nitrite.
The test required a test strip to be placed in the water testing tube for two seconds, give it a shake and wait 30 seconds before comparing it to the color chart. Results from our test were as followed:
Total Hardness: 100, slightly above the “OK” range
Total Chlorine: 0-0.5, within the “OK” range
Alkalinity: Between 80-120, considered safe
pH Level: Between 5-6, within the “OK” range
Nitrite and Copper: Both tested at zero, considered in the “OK” range
Iron: Measured at 1, above the “OK” threshold.
Overall the test found the water is safe despite the brown coloring.
The city says water tests are conducted daily from randomly selected locations through Columbia. It takes about 24-28 hours to get results back, according to West.