Southington's Water Reported Discolored: Water Department

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Folks in the Plantsville section of Southington are reporting discolored water out of their faucets, with the local water department attributing it to the wells they're using.

According to Southington Water Works, increased summer demand has the water department operating three groundwater wells that have higher levels of "naturally occurring manganese."

"Manganese is a mineral found in soil and rock," wrote Southington Water Works Wednesday afternoon. "While safe at low levels, it can cause water to appear discolored."

Water officials said reports of discolored water have been flooding into the department since last week, especially in Plantsville.

In response, Southington Water Works said it "conducted aggressive system flushing" on Tuesday, July 22.

This, water officials said, was to help clear affected areas, especially those with lower flow or dead-end mains.

"We are also enhancing our treatment process to better sequester manganese and minimize its impact on water appearance," wrote the water department.

"While it may take a few more days for the treatment to fully circulate through the entire system, we anticipate the issue will be resolved soon."

Those experiencing discolored water are asked to run the cold water tap for several minutes to help flush the plumbing.

Anyone with questions/concerns can call Southington Water Works at 860-628-5593.