Valley residents fed up with discolored water
Valley residents say they've had enough of the discolored water. The city and water services say they're doing what they can short-term to address it.
Valley residents say they've had enough of the discolored water. The city and water services say they're doing what they can short-term to address it.
Valley residents say they've had enough of the discolored water. The city and water services say they're doing what they can short-term to address it.
People living in Valley are fed up with having to filter their water that comes out discolored.
City leaders say it's been a problem for years and they're doing what they can to address it.
Valley resident Cole Williby has hit her boiling point. She's lived in Valley for over 50 years and says over time nothing changed.
"There's no, I don't think, any rhyme or reason that we need to live like this," Williby said.
She said the water can look multiple colors in the same day.
"In a day, you can go from brown-brown to red-brown to kind of a yellowish-orange," she said.
Valley Mayor Cindy Grove said the discoloration is caused by iron and manganese in the groundwater.
"I wouldn't really say it's an issue, it's just something that happens, based on the fact that where we live," Grove said.
Mike Adair from PeopleService, the city's water provider, said the water is filtered to meet all state requirements.
He said old pipes are the problem.
"The city of Valley's water mains are about 81 years old. We've only been treating it for 22, so all that iron and manganese was just getting put in those water mains," he said.
Grove said replacing the pipes would cost millions of dollars because it would require replacing whole streets.
"The only way to pay for that is raising our rates and having our taxpayers pay for that," she said.
Adair said the short-term solution is flushing the hydrants. However, flushing one part of town could affect another.
"Because we are disturbing the main, and we just have to continue to flush and continue to flush until everything is gone," Adair said.
He said PeopleService flushes certain hydrants about twice a year. If you continue to get discolored water, you need to file a formal complaint with the city.
Williby said she did.
"I had clear water. I was so excited so hopeful, and by the end of the day, I had dirty water again," she said.
She said it shouldn't have to be like this and she'd like to see the city come up with a detailed plan on how to fix it.
"Pull all assets in, let's figure it out," she said.
Grove said right now, there is no plan to replace the pipes but the city is focusing on updating the water treatment plant. This would help keep up with the volume of water needed in the city.
The city of Valley currently has water restrictions to avoid the overuse of water.