By Fox23.com News Staff
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — The City of Bartlesville is assuring residents their drinking water is still safe despite some potential discoloration caused by routine circulation and maintenance.
“Earlier this week, the City implemented temporary changes to water chemistry to improve the overall health of the water distribution system,” explained Bartlesville Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen. “While the water is still safe to drink and use as normal, these changes can potentially impact the appearance of the water in areas that are served by older water lines.”
The City said the water discoloration is only cosmetic and won’t harm the quality of the water.
According to the City, its raw water naturally contains high levels of dissolved calcium. When the City treats the water, a small amount of calcium is intentionally left in the water so it forms a thin protective scale on the inside of the water pipes.
This scale helps prevent metals from leaching into the City’s water.
The City explained that in older metal pipes with cement linings, natural mineral deposits can build up and create a harmless biofilm. While the biofilm is safe for humans to ingest, it can affect water taste and odor during warmer months.
To avoid this issue, the City said they’ve changed the water chemistry by lowering the pH from around 8.2 to 7.6. The pH change will help prevent excess buildup in older pipes and cause scales to form slower.
The City said it conducts annual fire hydrant flushing to remove some of these buildups, but said it’s become less effective in areas being served with older water pipes.
Lauritsen said, “Although we have a long-term program in place to replace these aging water lines, the work is scheduled over the next 10 to 15 years. In the meantime, we have made slight adjustments in water chemistry to lower this scale-forming potential, which combined with system flushing, will reduce buildup, protect pipe integrity and maintain adequate fire flow capacity.”
The City said residents with plastic service lines likely won’t notice any water discoloration.
“The discoloration is the dislodged scale and biofilm that has formed on the pipe. These components do not pose any health risk, but influence our perception of the safety of the water. While crews have flushed general areas that are known to have this older water pipe, more targeted flushing may be necessary in areas that have more of this scale present.”
The City of Bartlesville asks any residents who notice water discoloration to reach out to the water department at 918-338-4104 or if it’s after hours, to call 918-338-4055. This will allow crews to flush the water lines causing the discoloration.
