How flushing fire hydrants help maintain water quality

As Kentucky’s economy begins to reopen, houses of worship and other buildings that have been closed are being asked to flush old water from their pipes.

After nearly two months, the older water needs to be replaced with new fresh water to maintain the water quality. The pipes can be flushed by simply letting it run. If the pipes aren’t flushed, mineral and iron deposits can build up in the pipes over time.

Louisville Water maintains over 24,000 fire hydrants in its service area. Part of the maintenance routine is to periodically flush the hydrants.

This not only helps maintain the quality of water in the distribution system, but it also ensures proper water flow for fire fighters.

Quickly flushing a hydrant stirs up the iron and mineral deposits that build up over time. This can discolor the water coming out of the hydrant.  Iron is an aesthetic issue but is not an indicator that the water is unsafe or that the integrity of the water main has been compromised.

Great care is taken by our many scientists and engineers to ensure exceptional water quality.

Because water quality is important to us, we want to make sure the water our customers use is as good as it possibly can be.

More: Flushing Your Lines