Residents in some of Spring Hill's water districts have noticed that their water is an unusual color. This is due to an iron residue in the system that, while harmless to your health, is being addressed in a timely manner.
Miami County Rural Water District 2 recently reported a higher than normal concentration of naturally occurring iron and manganese at its plant at Hillsdale Lake (which also supplies the Spring Hill water district and Rural Water District 7). This increase in concentration can happen when summer temperatures are high for an extended period of time.
Iron and manganese are always present in your water in some form. While the increased presence of these chemicals may make your water smell, taste, or look unusual, they do not present a danger to your health. Your water is safe to drink.
The presence of iron in your water, however, may be a nuisance. When exposed to water with a high iron concentration, the use of bleach will increase staining of dishwashers, toilets, white clothing, and other lightly colored objects. There are a number of bleach-free cleaning products on the market, and RWD 2 offers a powdered iron remover free of charge to patrons.
RWD 2 reports that the iron and manganese issue is under control at the water treatment plant. The water system is being flushed, and water may appear cloudy as a result of higher water velocities in the pipelines.
The City of Spring Hill takes each water complaint seriously and takes prompt action to resolves any problems. When a water issue report is received from the public, operations staff begin flushing the fire hydrant nearest to the address in question in order to discharge any colored water from the water distribution system. Typically, it takes about 24 hours from when the call is received and fire hydrants are flushed to when the water begins to clear up. This process may take longer and is dependent on the concentration in the system.