Discolored Water Reports Continue In Columbia County

Columbia County officials are getting calls again from residents who say they have discolored water.

The Columbia County Water Utility say the issue was caused by a pump failure at the Jim Blanchard Water Treatment Plant.

Officials say crews are currently flushing in several locations in the county to mitigate the discolored water.

A statement from the Water Utility says:

"We are working towards a long-term solution to these discolored water events; however, the work cannot be performed until the lower flow periods in the distribution system occur this winter. In the short term, we continue to aggressively flush the problem areas and respond to complaints as promptly as possible."

Call the Columbia County Water Utility office at (706) 863-6928 or email at www.waterquality@columbiacountyga.gov.

Over the summer, some Columbia County residents said they've had brown or discolored water or may have experienced fluctuations in water pressure.

The complaints became enough of an issue that a dedicated reporting line was set up for residents to call to report water quality concerns. Water utility workers were then sent to investigate the complaint, take samples and document the issue.

A water quality task force was also set up to identify the causes of the discoloration and fluctuation in water pressure. Teams worked to resolve the issues as quickly as possible with more sampling and confirmation that the problems had been fixed.

The task force says it's monitoring system trends daily and managing manganese levels. It's also adjusting system operations to reduce pressure and flow fluctuations that can cause discolored water and pressure instability.

Officials say they are continuing to track customer complaints and will alert customers in specific zones where problems have been reported.