Mineral residue piling up on City’s 100-year-old water lines

Each city will run into water issues when it comes to discolor, odor or taste of their water. While the City of Guthrie has had their fair share, city officials demonstrated on Tuesday night one of the causes that leads to foul water.

City Manager Leroy Alsup shared the interior of two steel water line examples that runs through the City’s water distribution system. The photos showed mineral residue that has built up over time inside some of the City’s 100-year-old water lines.

“I don’t want to alarm anyone, this is not contaminated, but simply minerals that have settled on the lines over the years,” Alsup said on Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

The City has 74 miles of water distribution lines throughout their system with some of those lines being more than a century old.

The City conducts designate sampling testing sites throughout the City’s water distribution’s system and sends them off for testing by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

“Each month we send those samples into the lab and the findings have continued to show that the water delivered through our water distribution lines meets DEQ water quality standards,” the city manager said.

He continued, “However, when we experience line breaks, flush lines or do fire hydrant flow tests these activities stir up the (minerals) residue in the water lines that can cause discoloration and impact taste and smell of water. Even though, it’s safe to drink.”

Article continues following the picture.

Alsup also showed a 40-year-old plastic water line that also showed mineral build up, but not to the level as the steel pipes.

Another factor that can lead to water having an odor or discolor is lake turnover, but Alsup says they have made good strides to help the process.

The City is currently developing a systematic replacement program to replace the old water lines. They will first conduct a study to identify the priority areas and began replacing them in phases.

The project is expected to be costly.

“It’s going to be a substantial cost project to replace 74 miles of line,” Alsup said.

A financial plan was not discussed on how to fund the program, but will be needed sometime in the future.

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1 Comment on "Mineral residue piling up on City’s 100-year-old water lines"

  1. I just wish they would do something about it tasting like mud.

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