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Aiken City updates downtown water flushing program; staff report turbidity cleared in many sequences
Summary
City engineers and HyPhil presented results from a downtown unidirectional flushing program: 73 sequences, 27 miles flushed, about 1,000,000 gallons used, and average flushing velocities exceeding the 3 ft/s target; city to re-run downtown UDF in Feb. 2026 and pursue valve and hydrant assessments for phases 2 and 3 in 2026.
City engineers told the Aiken City Council Dec. 8 that a targeted unidirectional flushing (UDF) program in downtown Aiken yielded measurable water-quality improvements and provided a roadmap for system repairs.
Dave Johnson of HyPhil, joined by Thomas Barrett, Aiken’s city engineer, said the downtown UDF plan divided the area into four flushing zones and produced 73 flushing sequences that collectively flushed about 27 miles of pipe. The downtown effort, conducted July 23–Aug. 7, used roughly 1,000,000 gallons of water; hydrant-flow time totaled about 31 hours. Johnson said the program was designed to achieve a minimum flushing velocity of 3 feet per second but averaged a little over 5 feet per second across sequences, improving turbidity in many runs.
Johnson gave examples showing heavy-turbidity events clearing to ‘clear’ in sequences that ranged from about 21 to 51 minutes, depending on pipe diameters and configurations. He said 42% of sequences began heavy and finished clear; about 27% went from medium to clear; and a subset started light and finished clear.
The presentation outlined near-term plans: re-run the downtown UDF in February 2026 to determine optimal implementation frequency (every six months, annually or every other year), advertise an RFQ to select a contractor for ongoing flushing and valve/hydrant assessment services and run pilots for phase 2 and phase 3 in spring/early fall 2026. Valve assessments in the planned phase 2 and 3 areas will locate and exercise valves and hydrants to ensure they can be used during flushing and to identify assets needing repair or replacement.
Council members pressed for mapping of complaint locations, whether the UDF is a one-off or recurring maintenance, and how older, unlined cast-iron pipe sections will be handled. Johnson said the team has complaint data and historical records, and added that sediment and particulate issues are tied largely to pipe material and age; lining and targeted replacements are among longer-term remedies.
City staff said signage and public notifications will be used during future flushing, similar to annual hydrant-flushing notifications, and that the work helps staff isolate small areas for repairs and update GIS asset records.
Next steps: RFQ issuance for contractor services; downtown reimplementation Feb. 2026; valve assessments and pilot sequences for phase 2/3 in spring 2026, with broader implementation in Oct–Nov 2026.
