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Spring 'deep clean' of city's water system underway

Lines to be flushed this week

On Tuesday, May 9, a dive crew from Montana arrived in New Rockford for spring cleaning at the city's water treatment plant.

The crew was tasked with vacuuming the plant's clearwell, where treated water is stored underground before heading to the city's water tower and distributed to residents.

Due to water plant construction last year, the treatment system that removes iron and manganese from the city's drinking water was temporarily bypassed, allowing those minerals to settle at the bottom of New Rockford's water lines and clearwell.

With winter having come and gone, it was finally time to clean out those sediments.

The dive crew that vacuumed the clearwell on Tuesday is from Liquid Engineering Corporation, a company out of Billings, Montana that specializes in diving into water tanks, reservoirs, water towers and inspecting other submerged infrastructure for cleaning and maintenance.

The crew spent more than an hour preparing and taking measurements at the clearwell Tuesday morning, before their diver, Robert Chavez, donned his dry suit and lowered himself into the well (after being decontaminated with chlorine).

Chavez began vacuuming the settled minerals once submerged, and he was able to communicate with his coworkers, Andrew Smith and Josh Lesher, while inside.

The crew was able to watch along throughout the process as well, thanks to a camera mounted to Chavez' dive helmet. The entire task lasted over 6 hours.

Andrew Smith said there was sediment more than an inch thick throughout the clearwell, and Chavez added that he saw sediment as thick as four or five inches in some places. On similar jobs, Smith said they'll usually see sediment only about a quarter of an inch thick.

Nonetheless, the sediment was eventually cleared out, and after a final inspection of the clearwell it was a job well done.

Afterwards, the dive crew traveled straight to LaMoure, N.D. to do similar work on the nearby military installation there, before continuing on to Minnesota, Wisconsin and anywhere else they're scheduled to work.

The crew has an arduous schedule, as they work and travel across the country together for two months straight. Smith said he's done work as far away as Hawaii and Alaska.

The crew eventually gets two weeks off after those two months, when they can finally return home.

With the excess iron and manganese now removed from the clearwell, the city's water lines are up next.

According to Water Plant Manager Rick Swenson, the city is set to resume flushing the city's water lines as soon as Monday, May 15, likely meaning the temporary return of brown, discolored water to homes in New Rockford.

Like the clearwell, the flushing process is necessary to remove the minerals that settled in water lines during last year's water plant construction.

Despite the minerals having settled months ago, it hasn't been an issue this winter so long as those minerals remained largely undisturbed.

But when city workers open hydrants throughout the city this week, water will rush through their pipes at high speeds, stirring up those minerals and causing water from the tap to appear brown and discolored.

Swenson said the flushing process could last a few days, but assured that the water will remain safe to use and to drink throughout.

If you see brown or orange water in your home, simply running the water for a few minutes should take care of it. Also, the hard water is harshest on dishwashers and ice makers, so residents are encouraged to check water filters on their appliances and clean them as needed.