Flushing the Water Pipes for Corrosion Control Effort

Beginning Monday, August 14th, Avon Lake Regional Water crews will start flushing the water pipes within the city.  Flushing will take place in various areas of the city for the next several weeks, beginning at 7:00 a.m. each day.  Crews will start on the west side of Avon Lake and then move east.

Anticipated areas for Week of September 4th: East side of Avon Lake between the OH-83 and the Bay Village border. 

During this time, the water is safe to drink and use.  However, we recommend reducing your water usage if you see the crews in your area, as this will allow any sediment may be stirred up during the flushing to pass by your connection and go through the open hydrant. We do recommend you hold off on laundry during the flushing hours on your day to help reduce chances of sediments possibly staining your clothes.

Your water may become discolored during the flushing process, but it should clear up quickly after running the cold water faucet.  If you see discolored water, run your cold water faucet for up to 10 minutes.  If you still see discolored water after 10 minutes, give us a call at (440) 933-6226.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at (440) 933-6226.

Flushing of the water pipes is in preparation for our new corrosion control effort. Across the State of Ohio, water treatment facilities implement corrosion control efforts to prevent corrosion of their water pipes. The most common approach is to add phosphate to the water to coat the inside of the pipes to prevent corrosion. The phosphate reacts with the pipes to form an insoluble coating to protect the pipes. The amount of phosphate that will be added to the water is a minimal amount that will not impact the quality or taste of the water, and is well within guidelines approved by the Ohio EPA.

For those who might be concerned, during the initial application, the amount of phosphorus in one cup of water will be about 0.15 mg; and, in the long-term, there will be about 0.05 mg of phosphorus in a cup of water. For comparison purposes, a cup of Skim Milk has about 250 mg of phosphorus.

Please feel free to call Avon Lake Regional Water at (440) 933-6226 if you have any questions.