Fire Hydrant Flushing Starts Monday, Lasts 2-3 Months

Did you know there are 650 fire hydrants in West Richland? I didn’t. Did you know there’s an annual program that involves the city and the county fire department flushing out those fire hydrants? I didn’t. And yet the announcement that the city sent out clearly says “annual.” Don’t think I ever remember hearing about this, and we’ve lived in West Richland since late 1998.

Anyhoo, the fire hydrant flushing starts on Monday, and will last between 8-12 weeks. City and fire crews will be flushing out fire hydrants from 8 am to 3 pm every Monday through Thursday. The goal is to make sure everything’s functioning correctly, as clean as possible, etc. There may also be some nuisances for homeowners:

Fire hydrant flushing may cause temporary inconveniences such as a reduction in water pressure and aesthetic issues such as discoloration of the drinking water. Flushing stirs up sediment, iron and manganese mineral deposits in the water mains causing temporary discoloration. Discolored water poses no threat to the public’s health, but may stain laundry and if consumed may have an unpleasant taste. Residents should be certain all discolored water is out of their home’s plumbing lines and hot water heater and that the water is clear before laundering clothes or drinking it.

That’s taken from the city’s news release, which can be downloaded in PDF form from the city web site.

It also says that, if you still have discolored water after crews have stopped working in your area or after 3 pm, you should:

1. run your water faucet for a few minutes
2. if that doesn’t work, call the Public Works department at 967-5434

You might want to read that PDf for more information about washing/drying clothes and such.

And … am I the only one who’s never heard of this before?

Thank you for reading this article on the West Richland Real Estate Blog. If you arrived here looking for specific real estate information, or would like to speak with a friendly, fun, professional, and low-pressure real estate agent, please contact Cari via her web site or call her directly at 509 – 430 – 5342 and she’ll be glad to help. Thanks again for visiting!