Construction projects

Since ownership of the WBWA water system transferred to the PUD in 2018, studies have been completed to determine how to improve long-term water quality. These studies identified the need to:

• Modify operations at the Well 4 treatment facilities (September 2022)
• Construct further improvements for the Well 4 treatment facilities (2023), and
• Install treatment at Well 2 to promote its compatibility with water system pH and disinfection (2023-2024)

These improvements are being implemented to improve the quality of your drinking water. The Well 4 location has experienced discolored water and taste and odor events in the past, due primarily to limitations in the old treatment facility. The cause of these past taste and odor events is due to naturally occurring ammonia in the water, and the cause of the past discolored water events is due to naturally occurring manganese. Improvements in treatment will better control these constituents in the future. By implementing improvements, not only will water continue to meet public health regulatory standards, but it will reduce these frustrating water quality issues.

Some of the most important improvements will start in September 2022. New instruments and controls are installed and ready for the operational changes. Design for other improvements to the Well 4 site’s infrastructure is almost complete and planned for construction in 2023.

As we move toward customers experiencing a more consistent, higher quality of water in September, the initial changeover may cause short-term color and/or odor events. This can happen as the “new” water starts to displace the “old” water in both the utility system and in your home plumbing. This is because the new water may react with some left-behind manganese and/or ammonia. If it does happen, there are things we can all do to help remedy the issue.

PUD water utility staff may open some system fire hydrants to allow a turnover of water during this transition. This turnover may be needed to remove any color that could be imparted from left-behind manganese and ammonia.

Because home plumbing may contain some of these left-behind constituents when the new water arrives, some homes may experience a brief period of water discoloration or changes in taste or odor. We expect that some intentional flushing of your home water plumbing will resolve this issue.

Flush COLD-Water Plumbing

If you do experience either discolored water or changes in your water taste or odor, you can run your COLD-water plumbing system in the following step-by-step sequence:

1. If possible:

• Turn off the supply valve to the water heater.
• Bypass any water softeners and/or whole-house water treatment filters or other devices if you have them.

2. Before running taps, be sure all drains are clear and ready to receive water. If you have any filters located at any home taps, remove them before starting.

3. Open the COLD water tap closest to your water meter. This may be a hose bib at the outside of your home. At full open, allow this to flow for 15 minutes and then shut this tap. Doing this will make sure you have fresh water from the supply system entering your home. If you notice that water is discolored during the flushing process at this tap, stop the process, wait approximately 30 minutes and repeat. If discolored water persists, please contact us by calling 425-397-3000.

4. Now that you have brought fresh water to your home, it is important to flush remaining ‘old’ water and bring new water throughout your home. To do this, you can do the following:

1. 1. At this time, DO NOT run dish or clothes washers, refrigerator water, ice machines, or other water-supplied devices until completing all below COLD-water flushing.
   2. Flush each toilet in the home twice, allowing the toilet tank to fill both times.
   3. Starting at a faucet tap closest to your water meter and working your way to a faucet further away from the meter and further into your home, open all COLD water taps in your home and let them run for 5 minutes and then shut all taps.
   4. If you have removable aerators and screens at your faucet taps, we recommend you remove and clean them where possible.
   5. If you have additional outdoor taps and hose bibs, we recommend you open those and run them for 5 minutes each.

5. After completing all the above, you can open the valve to your hot water heater (if it was shut) and operate your hot water plumbing.

HOT water plumbing

Did you know that it is recommended that homeowners flush hot water heaters every 6 months? Sites such as the Home Depot have step-by-step instructions on how to do this. If you have not flushed your hot water heater in the past, please consider doing this by following the manufacturer’s recommendations for your water heater.

After your hot water heater has been flushed per above maintenance steps, you can flush your HOT water home plumbing as follows:

1. Be sure that the supply valve to your hot water tank is open, and any valves exiting the tank are also open and your plumbing system is ready to receive hot water.
2. To save energy while flushing your hot water system, you may want to temporarily turn down the water heater’s temperature setting to conserve energy.
3. After completing the COLD-water flushing described on the previous page, start from the tap closest to the water heater and work your way to the tap furthest away from the water heater, open all HOT water taps for 5 minutes.

Reset your water heater’s temperature back to its normal setting.