Recently, the City of Milford completed the installation of two new wells and a new 750,000-gallon water tower in the southeast part of the City. Upon successful completion of system testing as well as water quality testing, the tower and wells were put into use on August 9, 2016 for public distribution. As part of another capital improvement project that was underway, one well at the Washington Street water treatment facility and the Washington Street water tower were slated to be refurbished. In order to maintain adequate water supply to customers, the work at the Washington Street facilities could not commence until the southeast tower and wells were brought on line. The work on the Washington Street well is underway, and the tower work is planned to begin this month.

As a result of this work on widely separated components of the water distribution system, water was redirected within the system. This has had some unanticipated side effects in southern section of the City. The new water flow direction has loosened silt and pipe scale within the lines, causing “rusty” or “dirty” water at some locations. The Public Works Department became aware of the issue this past week. To address this situation for our customers, the Public Works Department will begin to flush water lines within the next several weeks. The flushing will take time (approximately two months), and proper notification to residents will take place prior to implementing the flushing program.

The Public Works Department will use the CodeRed emergency notification system, the City’s website, our Facebook page and our Twitter account to communicate the plans for water line flushing. Residents who have not done so are encouraged to visit the City’s website to register for CodeRed, and to follow us on Facebook and/or on Twitter.

Residents who experience “rusty” or “dirty” water either now or during the flushing operation can alleviate the problem by letting water run for a few moments. In most cases, running an outside faucet for a few minutes can clear the water in the house. Additionally, we recommend residents do NOT do laundry at the beginning of the day and wait until the water has cleared as the particles may discolor clothing.