To prepare residents, the City of Battle Ground occasionally sends out notices to residents of the city’s plans to flush its water lines.
At such times, city workers will open fire hydrants, causing water to be released rapidly from lines. As a result, residents will notice discolored water temporarily coming from their taps, naturally causing some to ask why.
“Water main flushing is important to enhance water quality and clarity,” according to the city’s website. “The process of opening fire hydrants creates high-velocity water flow, which dislodges and removes built-up sediment from the system. Flushing also provides the opportunity to test fire hydrants to make sure water flow and pressure are sufficient.”
The discoloration occurs because of naturally occurring deposits of iron, which is red, or manganese, which is black, being dislodged in the system.
“This is not harmful, just visually off-putting,” Communications Manager Alisha Smith said. “We advise customers to run the cold water tap, nearest to their meter, until the water runs clear (typically a few minutes). By running the cold water to clear the lines, one can prevent the materials from entering their water heaters, which could cause issues to the unit.”
It is also advised that people make sure their water is clear before doing laundry or other projects, for which discolored water could cause a problem.
Smith said that, by proactively addressing issues such as sediment in the water system, bacterial growth and water quality degradation with regular line flushing, a city can uphold the highest standards of public health and safety.
“As urban populations continue to grow, the importance of regular water line flushing cannot be overstated in safeguarding the well-being of communities and promoting a sustainable and reliable water supply,” Smith said.
Battle Ground serves 7,130 residential and 438 customers, and its water system consists of five wells, 85 miles of water mains, six reservoirs and three booster pumps.
Water is pumped from underground aquifers from wells, where it is then disinfected. The water then passes through a filter for purification before it travels to the reservoirs. Booster pumps are used to sustain water flow to ensure adequate water pressure.
The city also has a wholesale and an emergency intertie with Clark Public Utilities. Battle Ground also conducts regular inspections and testing of its water system, releasing a water report in July of each year.
Last year’s water report can be seen at cityofbg.org/DocumentCenter/View/559/Water-Quality-Report---2022.
Residents can also help with water quality by taking some steps during everyday life. They can clean up their pet waste since any unattended waste can be washed into storm drains from rainfall, bringing harmful bacteria, parasites and viruses. This then ends up flowing into nearby streams and bodies of water.
Yard debris should also be removed as decomposing lawn clippings can bring nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into local waterways, which could result in spawning algae blooms. This results in low dissolved oxygen in the water, which can suffocate local aquatic life.
Washing cars and letting the water flow into storm drains can also cause water pollution, and the city recommends bringing cars to a commercial car wash, which drains its water into the city’s sewer system for treatment.
“We all live in a watershed, the path from which rainwater travels back to bodies of water before evaporating and starting its journey all over again,” the city wrote in its annual water report for residents. “In developed areas, rainwater becomes stormwater when it falls on a hard surface, for example, rooftops, streets, parking lots, etc. As stormwater flows, it picks up pollutants such as sediment, pet waste, motor oil, yard debris, etc., which are then carried into the stormwater system and then into nearby waterways from which our drinking water is sourced.”
