Prince William Water Flushing Gets Underway This Spring

WOODBRIDGE, VA — Prince William County residents will notice a slight chlorine taste and smell in water and crews working on flushing the water systems this spring.

Prince William Water, the public drinking water source serving more than 380,000 people in Prince William County, will conduct its annual spring flushing. In addition, Prince William Water’s drinking water providers, Fairfax Water and the City of Manassas, will temporarily change the primary disinfectant in water treatment from chloramines to free chlorine.

"Our annual spring flushing program is a best management practice to safeguard water quality within the distribution system and is endorsed by both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Virginia Department of Health," said Doug Shoop, director of operations and maintenance at Prince William Water.

The water flushing will happen between March 24 and May 12. Prince William Water crews and staff will be deployed to various service areas to work on flushing of the drinking water. That includes opening hydrants to forcefully push water through pipes and dislodge accumulated sediments and minerals from the last year. The utility provider said residents may see brief cloudiness in the water due to loosening sediment moving through pipes. If that happens, the utility advises residents to run cold water for about two minutes until the cloudiness goes away.

Another program between March and May will be the switch to chloramines to free chlorine as the top water treatment disinfectant. According to Prince William Water, the temporary change aids in the annual flushing program and is a standard of the drinking water industry. There may be a slight chlorine taste and smell in the tap water during the process. Residents who are sensitive to the chlorine are encouraged to use water filters or refrigerate water to reduce the chlorine taste and smell.

Except during the spring flushing season, chloramine (a mix of ammonia and chlorine) is the primary disinfectant for water treatment.

See more information about the spring flushing program on Prince William Water's website.