The Hillsdale Board of Public Utilities will flush all fire hydrants in the city of Hillsdale from March 28-31. During the procedure, city residents will be able to use their water but may experience some discoloration.
Although rare, some potential effects of hydrant flushing include cloudy tap water and decreased water pressure, according to a recent BPU press release.
“Most people aren’t going to notice anything different,” said Sam Fry, BPU marketing and communications coordinator. “If there is a little bit of discoloration in the water, run cold water for a few minutes until the water is clear again. Avoid doing a load of white laundry or running the dishwasher if the water is particularly cloudy.”
The flushing is a routine procedure that takes place every spring and fall to make sure hydrants work well and can dispense clean water.
Fry said one of the primary goals of the biannual flushing is to ensure the safety of Hillsdale residents.
“It’s part of the overall preventative maintenance approach we take,” Fry said. “We do regret that it’s a temporary inconvenience to folks. We want to get this done as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to minimize any impact to our residents.”
Hillsdale residents should not be alarmed about the procedure, as it’s something that takes place in every city, Fry said. The flushing has nothing to do with the city’s current water quality.
“We exceed the standard that state and federal guidelines set,” Fry said. “We take it very seriously. We want to make sure that our community is protected.”
Crews will work from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following day, flushing every hydrant in the city. According to Jeff Gier, BPU director of water and sewer, the city will use a method of hydrant flushing called unidirectional flushing.
“With UDF, each pipeline is isolated to create flow in a single direction and quickly clean the pipe,” according to an article by Tata and Howard. “By concentrating the flow, UDF creates higher velocities to clear the pipes and requires less water.”
The BPU will not be able to disclose ahead of time which streets will be flushed on certain days, due to the fast-paced nature of the project.
“It’s not possible to let people know exactly when we’re going to flush a hydrant near their home or business,” Fry said. “We’re going to be working fast. That’s why we’re trying to get this information out now.”
In October 2021, the crews finished flushing the city’s hydrants sooner than they had expected. Although the process could last an entire week, Fry said he hopes this period of flushing will go as quickly as it did in October.
“For a lot of people this seems routine and it is routine, but just because it’s routine doesn’t mean it’s not a very important thing for us to do,” Fry said. “We know it could be a slight inconvenience but it’s something necessary we need to get done.”
