Hello Neighbors,
We have been receiving reports of brown water and are working to mitigate the situation. Our water operator had recently informed us of drought conditions at the reservoir. This tends to occur annually each summer, but has come early this year. These low reservoir levels cause algae to bloom. The blooms then rise to the surface and explode releasing compounds that contribute to taste and odor. We had gotten a handle on that last week by making adjustments at the water treatment plant, but another issue arose over the weekend.
Unfortunately, early Sunday morning there was a power surge of some kind at the plant, possibly a lightning strike. This caused our control systems to go down, shutting down the filter. Crews arrived on site shortly after this occurred and had the plant back online later that day. However, a part was needed to ensure smooth operations and that part did not arrive until midday yesterday.
The plant is currently back to normal, but the distribution system requires flushing to pull fresh water from the plant into the system. Flushing was begun today on Schoharie Tpke. from the WTP to Flats Rd. and will continue tomorrow and moving forward until we see clarity through the system.
In addition, our long awaited filter rebuild will take place on Monday, July 8th. This is part of the planned infrastructure work that we are currently undertaking for which we have received state and federal funding. This will be a huge help in mitigating the issues caused by our current drought conditions.
While the water is aesthetically unpleasing, it is not unsafe. Organic matter and sediment build-up in the lines will cause the discoloration we are seeing. The flushing efforts should relieve that.
Please continue to report issues to us through the Village Clerk’s office. These reports help us figure things out faster.
We apologize for the inconvenience.