Council accepts grant to rehabilitate water plant filters amid resident concern about brown water and distribution pipes

The council voted Oct. 15 to accept grant funding to rehabilitate or replace the city’s sand-filtration tanks at the water purification plant. Staff said the existing filters are roughly 35 years old and the grant could cover either rehabilitation or full replacement of vessels as needed.

During the discussion residents asked whether the project will stop ‘‘brown water’’ episodes in homes. City engineers explained that filtration improves source-water quality at the plant, but the brown or rusty water that residents sometimes see is typically caused by sediment in older distribution pipes (cast-iron mains) and by disturbances such as hydrant use or main flushing. Staff said distribution-system improvements are a separate, larger investment and that both filter upgrades and distribution replacements may be needed over time.

Council and public questions also covered how many filters the grant would purchase (staff estimated the current grant will cover two filters, with a potential $2.75 million request pending to cover several more), expected life of new filters (~35 years) and whether the grant covers replacement of filter media. Staff said the grant language is intentionally flexible to allow appropriate scope of work.

Action: council accepted the grant. Staff committed to follow up with additional information about the scope and schedule and to pursue further grant opportunities for additional filter replacements and distribution-system work.