Water quality issues have again resulted in a show and tell of sorts with rusty water on display at the Montgomery Village Board meeting this week.
It was nearly five years ago when residents complained to the board about water quality in the Boulder Hill area. Soon samples and pictures of rusty water made their way to Village Board meetings. A nearly $8 million project was then undertaken to clear up the water problems in Boulder Hill, a large unincorporated area that gets its water from Montgomery.
Now water problems have surfaced in an older section of the village itself. Residents say water is coming out sporadically with a rusty orange color.
“If I came into the back room after a while and turned on the faucet to make coffee, I have to let it run to get out the orange,” said Mayor Matt Brolley at the board meeting.
While the current problem is not nearly as bad as the Boulder Hill issue, village officials said, engineers are questioning why only a few homeowners are complaining about the problem. Dave Kennedy, who lives on the 100 block of Jefferson Street, took samples of rusty water from his own home to the board meeting.
“I’ve got rusty water,” he said. “I have talked to (the Public Works director) and they have been out to my house and seen what is going on.”
Kennedy said the Public Works staff discussed different ways to fix the problem, but to no avail.
“I called the state Environmental Protection Agency asking questions and the first person I talked to said they were appalled at the issues,” he said.
Trustee Denny Lee said he sympathized with Kennedy and his neighbors. He said he also lives in the older section of the community.
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“We have orange, we have the oldest (water) main on this side of town,” he said.
He said at his house, if he hasn’t “used a pipe for a while and I see orange, I let is run. I don’t know how long it takes but you get clear water.”
Montgomery Public Works Director Todd Hoppenstedt said he would do whatever the board directed him to do to help any resident with a water problem.
“We have not heard from any residents on Jefferson until today when we got a sample. The guys said a resident’s wife was watering the garden and said she sees rust but typically not discoloration. We have also taken draws (of water from other homes) and they look very clear.”
The current plan is for the Public Works Department to flush the water mains on a more frequent schedule. Hoppenstedt said he would work with any homeowners that have issues.
Judy Pochel is a freelance writer for the Beacon-News