Capital Region Water says maintenance and a pipe break stirred up iron and manganese
For more than a week, midtown Harrisburg residents had reports of discolored tap water, surging Monday morning after a water main break. The break coincided with separate pipe maintenance that stirred up minerals, Capital Region Water (CRW) said.Residents, like Jim Freeman, who’s lived in Harrisburg for nearly 11 years, reported water ranging from light tan to deep brown since Wednesday. CRW says reports began as early as last Sunday.”Two times now, like Wednesday and this morning it would just becomes deep brown. So you never really know. You never know what’s going to happen. So most of the time it’s light tan.” said Freeman. “It’s definitely not something I like. The idea of drinking or even, like, having my dog drink, you know?”The main break occurred about five blocks from Jim Freeman’s apartment on William Street. Capital Region Water said a boil-water advisory is in effect for the affected area, provided a map of impacted addresses and will re-evaluate the advisory tomorrow.CRW said two unrelated events appear to be causing the discoloration: maintenance over the last few weeks to replace a 1940’s-era valve on a 20-mile pipe connecting Harrisburg to the DeHart reservoir that stirred up iron and manganese in the system, and the recent water main break. CRW’s drinking water Chief Operations Officer, Chad Bingaman, said crews are sampling and flushing the system and that the utility expects the water to clear as the system stabilizes.”We don’t expect this to last very long. We’re hoping, like I said, within a week, this will be cleared up.” said Bingaman. “If they’re going to be doing work give kind of a heads up because, everything’s normal and then you go to get water and oh, it’s discolored,” said Freeman. Officials advise running the cold tap for several minutes to help clear discoloration, avoiding laundry until water clears to prevent staining, and contacting Capital Region Water if discoloration persists so the utility can map and address issues. “Things are improving, but, it’s been happening, and we’re doing our best. We’re we’re grabbing samples. We’re testing,” said Bingaman.
For more than a week, midtown Harrisburg residents had reports of discolored tap water, surging Monday morning after a water main break. The break coincided with separate pipe maintenance that stirred up minerals, Capital Region Water (CRW) said.
Residents, like Jim Freeman, who’s lived in Harrisburg for nearly 11 years, reported water ranging from light tan to deep brown since Wednesday. CRW says reports began as early as last Sunday.
“Two times now, like Wednesday and this morning it would just becomes deep brown. So you never really know. You never know what’s going to happen. So most of the time it’s light tan.” said Freeman. “It’s definitely not something I like. The idea of drinking or even, like, having my dog drink, you know?”
The main break occurred about five blocks from Jim Freeman’s apartment on William Street.
Capital Region Water said a boil-water advisory is in effect for the affected area, provided a map of impacted addresses and will re-evaluate the advisory tomorrow.
Hearst OwnedCapital Region Water
CRW said two unrelated events appear to be causing the discoloration: maintenance over the last few weeks to replace a 1940’s-era valve on a 20-mile pipe connecting Harrisburg to the DeHart reservoir that stirred up iron and manganese in the system, and the recent water main break.
CRW’s drinking water Chief Operations Officer, Chad Bingaman, said crews are sampling and flushing the system and that the utility expects the water to clear as the system stabilizes.
“We don’t expect this to last very long. We’re hoping, like I said, within a week, this will be cleared up.” said Bingaman.
“If they’re going to be doing work give kind of a heads up because, everything’s normal and then you go to get water and oh, it’s discolored,” said Freeman.
Officials advise running the cold tap for several minutes to help clear discoloration, avoiding laundry until water clears to prevent staining, and contacting Capital Region Water if discoloration persists so the utility can map and address issues.
“Things are improving, but, it’s been happening, and we’re doing our best. We’re we’re grabbing samples. We’re testing,” said Bingaman.