Timberline, Sahalee Residents Asked to Flush "Dirty Water" from Pipes

A power outage this morning has led to water quality problems for Northeast Sammamish Sewer & Water District (NESSWD) customers in the Timberline and Sahalee neighborhoods of Sammamish, but the district says there is no health hazard to residents.

A recorded message on the district's telephone line this evening asks that residents experiencing "dirty water" flush their hose bibs or faucets for 10 minutes every two hours, and says the district is working to flush affected pipes.

Representatives of the Sammamish Plateau Water & sewer District said that entity ran water to NESSWD this afternoon, and described the situation as "turbulence" caused by an unexpected high flow of water.

Neighbors in the area have been sharing information via the Timberline Facebook Page, including this message a local resident on the page: 

Got a call from a neighbor this morning saying they were getting dirty water. Verified it was many of us and then call NE Sam Water/Sewer and they verified that a power surge had opened up valves that should not have been opened. This caused the main lines to be scoured of mineral deposits and that is what is causing the dirty water. They said it will take 2-4 hours to purge and after that, we'll need to purge our own house lines before drinking. Water filters will probably not be able to keep up so drink bottled water until everything is purged. She did say it was through out Timberline so be cautious.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.