Paris, Tenn.–The Paris Board of Public Utilities has issued a statement on the discolored water being experienced locally in recent days.
“First and foremost, please know that although discolored, our water is still completely safe to consume. Paris BPU collaborated with the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) to ensure there are no issues with water quality,” BPU officials said today.
“This discoloration some of our customers are experiencing is a result of increased amounts of iron in the water. The increased amount of iron is a result of several factors:
- Annual flow testing was recently performed by the Fire Department. This can stir minerals up on our system and lead to discoloration of water in some areas.
- We have begun the transition to the new Water Treatment Plant. As water from the new and old plant mix and different pumping directions are used, minerals, like iron, can get stirred up in the system.
- We have put the Spruce Street Tank back in operation. When we put the Spruce Street Tank back in operation last week, reverse flow and other factors may lead to discoloration in some areas.”
“Early last week we began receiving scattered reports of discoloration across our system,” said Tony Brown, Paris BPU Vice President- Water & Wastewater Operations. “Our staff immediately began working with Jacobs Engineering and TDEC to identify this issue and develop a plan to remedy the issue.”
Beginning Monday, Paris BPU emptied all water storage tanks on the system and began flushing isolated sections of the BPU system. Today, Wednesday, December 2, they began a system-wide flush. A thorough system-wide flush like this will be an ongoing process. In conjunction with the flush, they will be doing a series of testing and sampling within the system to determine the effectiveness of the flush. Once the system-wide flush is complete, some customers may still experience discoloration in their water as our new, more effective disinfection process, acclimates itself with our system.
“At this time, we are unable to give an exact timeline for when all issues will be resolved but as our community’s trusted water provider, we take very seriously our commitment to providing our customers with a safe and reliable water source,” said Terry Wimberley, Paris BPU President & CEO. “We will work diligently until this issue is resolved and our customers once again have clear water.”
Wimberley said, “Once again, we remind you that although discolored at this time, the Paris BPU water is safe to drink. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask for your cooperation and understanding as we work through this unique situation.”