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Watermain Flushing

NEWS RELEASE

WATERMAIN FLUSHING

For Immediate Release

Contact:    Randy Krauel

                  City of Carroll, Director of Public Works

                  (712) 792-1000

Carroll, Iowa — The City of Carroll is planning to begin a comprehensive program of watermain flushing at approximately 7:00 A.M., Monday, April 1, 2024.  The watermain flushing is anticipated to continue through completion.  The watermain flushing will be performed between the hours of 7:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., Monday through Friday.  Anticipated completion of watermain flushing is mid-May.

Watermain flushing involves opening each of the approximately 500 fire hydrants within the City to create a high rate of water flow in the watermains.  The high rate of flow will help to mechanically clean the watermains of iron or rust deposits.  The fire hydrants will be opened at the rate of approximately 25 per day.  On days following flushing, isolated fire hydrants will be flowed to remove rusty water remaining in the watermains.

The anticipated schedule for flushing fire hydrants is as follows:

                                General Area                                                Approx. Street Boundaries            

Day	Date	Description	North	South	East	West
1	April 1st	North Central	18th Street	12th Street	Grant Road	Adams Street
2		Central	12th Street	7th Street	Grant Road	Carroll Street
3		North Central	18th Street	13th Street	Adams Street	Quint Avenue
4		North Central	Randall Road	18th Street	Grant Road	West Street
5		North East	29th Street	22nd Street	Skyline Drive	Grant Road
6		North Central	30th Street	Randall Road	Grant Road	West Street
7		West Central	7th Street	4th Street	Clark Street	Putnam Avenue
8		West Central	18th Street	7th Street	Carroll Street	U.S. Hwy. 71
9		South Central	7th Street	Bluff Street	Grant Road	Main Street
10		West Central	4th Street	Bluff Street	Main Street	U.S. Hwy. 71
11		West	U.S. Hwy. 30	3rd Street	U.S. Hwy. 71	Kittyhawk Avenue
12		North West	21st Street	18th Street	West Street	20th Street cul-de-sac
13		North East	18th Street	Mockingbird Drive	Primrose Drive	Grant Road
14		East Central	Mockingbird Drive	Woodland Drive	High Ridge Road	Grant Road
15		East Central	Mockingbird Drive	Woodland Drive	Northridge Drive	High Ridge Road
16		East Central	Woodland Drive	U.S. Hwy. 30	Griffith Road	Grant Road
17		South East	U.S. Hwy. 30	E. Anthony Street	Griffith Road	S. Clark Street
18		South West	Bluff Street	Pleasant Ridge Road	Clark Street	U.S. Hwy. 71
19		South East	E. Anthony Street	Pleasant Ridge Road	Grant Road	Field Crest Drive
20		South	Pleasant Ridge Rd.	City Limits	Grant Road	Deer Creek Lane

Although flowing will be limited to fire hydrants in the above areas, rusty water could occur anywhere in the water system during the flushing program.

Prior to the start-up of the City’s Water Treatment Plant, on January 3, 1996, higher concentrations of iron within the well source water was pumped for use in the City system.  Through a period of up to 100 years some of the iron in the water oxidized and precipitated out of the water onto the interior walls of the watermain pipe system.  The Water Treatment Plant now removes iron from the well water prior to pumping it to the system for use.  The iron oxide or rust remaining on the water piping system interior walls occasionally breaks off of the walls and becomes suspended in the water resulting in rusty water.  This flushing program is an effort to induce the breaking off of rust and remove it from the watermain pipe prior to reaching consumer’s taps.

Under the most successful circumstances residents should experience rust-free water.  There is the possibility that some rusty water will remain in the water system following flushing.  If that occurs and any resident experiences rusty water, we urge them to contact the Water Division at 792-1000 so that Division personnel can address and attempt to correct the rusty water occurrence.