Slimy mains water!

[None]

Where I live, we seem to be located close to a dead end of a water main. This causes us no end of problems, as the water always seems to be stagnant and filled with sediment unless I get the local authority to flush out the hydrant every couple of weeks, to which they object bitterly. This weekend, things have come to a head, as the water has become slimy! It is horrible to shower in, and undrinkable. Could it be related to the season we are in, and algae growth? The clothes smell horrible after being washed too, particularly the towels. We live in a very built up residential suburb, but most houses canvassed on this dont have any water problems, seems to be just us somehow.... what can I do??

[JoeSpareBedroom]

First thing I'd do is find out who the head honcho is at the water authority and demand to speak to him/her. There are times when you need to stop dealing with foot soldiers, and insist on speaking to a general. I'd also call your local health department. In other words, start making peoples' lives miserable until the problem's fixed, even if it means that they have to rip up the entire street to fix the problem. Do *NOT* think about spending money on water treatment yet. You are already paying for water that should meat a certain quality level.

[None]

Hmmm... I'm trying to psyche myself up to be beastly on the phone tomorrow morning lol... I am soooo sick of this problem by now. If they flush the hydrant, we get two weeks (like clockwork) of clean water, followed by the inevitable sudden decline. The problem is, they don't actually believe me when I have tried to describe the problem!! They have canvassed neighbours further up the road, and they havent raised any concerns. They make one feel embarrassed to be reporting these concerns, its truly backward. Around here, its not a water company that regulates things, the water isnt privatised anymore. With that said, its clearly a very localised problem, and when I say localised I mean my house!

[JoeSpareBedroom]

The people who you've dealt with so far get paid for their work. Who pays them? It's either a public or private organization.

[dpb]

If it is a public supply, they're required to meet the minimum standards. Take samples at your tap and have them tested. It would be best to take the sample at the entrance to the house so it is still in their supply chain. If it fails, voila! you have recourse.

Alternatively, if it is simply a dead end of the line issue which is possible, perhaps it wouldn't be too difficult to get at least a small bypass line so the water continues to move.

[None]

Thanks for the responses... what do you mean when you say a bypass line?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Don't be nasty. Nasty just makes the other person nasty. Follow Joe SB's instructions to get to the head guy. The, you say, I have a problems, and you are the person that can help me. Politely explain the problem, offer a suggestion, then let him follow up. Only when this does not work do you get nasty. Just be firm and polite, at least at first, state your case, and you will get better results.

[EXT]

We used to have the same problem every summer. We were on a 1 kilometre long watermain that deadended at the end of our deadend street. There were only

40 houses on this 6" diameter main stub. The water would smell like dead fish. Usually one call to the water department of our town would get the end hydrant opened to flush the main, then the next couple of days we would get superclorinated water. Our street is now connected to a watermain grid now that they have built a development on the street and we don't get that problem now.

[dpb]

Exactly that -- a smaller than the main line that connects back around in a loop to prevent the stagnation by allowing a small amount of flow in the main rather than the deadhead/stagnant.

[hallerb]

employees you talk too may claim no other complaints but its possible a big problem.

stop by the physical office, ask the name of the president or whatever. be nice but be persistent.Ask to speak to them. Chances are you will be directed to someone else. So talk to them, write down their name.

if you ever think someone is ignoring you ask them to write their name down, the name of their boss and bosses phone number.

this puts the heat on the seat:)

You might also complain to the local town to get it fixed:)

I had excellent results complaining to our town manager about the garbage pickup. Problem solved while contractor ignored me

[JoeSpareBedroom]

.....and don't forget that even in big cities, the TV stations are starved for interesting news. If a water test shows something potentially threatening to your health, and the water authority does nothing, you know what to do next.

[Marilyn & Bob]

Having a water supply dead end as opposed to a continuous bypass seems like a below standard situation. It certainly is illegal in NYC where I live and I'm sure in most other places. Opening a hydrant every week or so seems like a half-assed way with dealing with the inadequate design problem. It costs staff time and wastes precious (and perhaps expensive) water. In any case, there are federal laws that mandate minimum water quality standards. As far as I know, enforcement of these laws have been delegated to the states' department of health. So I would call the state DOH and complain and let it go from there. This applies whether you have a Public or Private water system.

[None]

Ok, the water department are sending someone out tomorrow finally. Im expecting a lack of knowledge on their part about resolving this problem, they sounded clueless and irked on the phone. They sure know how to flush those hydrants though. How can I explain in quick and concise terms that they need to stop letting the supply terminate at the end of our street?? There are roads all around us, I just don't know how to explain to them that they need to somehow either link it to those pipes, or install the aforementioned bypass, as I wont sound like I know what Im talking about.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It certainly sounds like you know how to explain it. Maybe a sketch would help? If you show them that all the gunk that is in the water (much from the pipes) builds up at the end of the line and since you happen to be at the end of the line, you get nasty water. Be sure to have a sample on had just in case they flush the hydrant before they talk to you.

Explain it as all the water that goes into a bucket and the sediment falls to the bottom and you happen to live on the bottom of the bucket. Only difference is, the pipes are like the bucket on its side. Same crap settling there though. They have to add a pipe so it goes past you.

[Bob F]

Take a glass of water for the head honchos at the utility to drink If they refuse, you've got a good case.

Bob

[None]

They have made their excuses for today, and wont be along again, now they say tomorrow. I forgot to mention that I am not actually the last house on the line. There are three others downstream of me, but we are all very closely bunched together, so we are still very near to the end hydrant, and the supply pipe is a very small one in any case. I wont be getting any help from these neighbours though, as they really dont seem to care about the problem, and have lived here for decades. This has bred a strange sense of familiarity with this awful supply, so when the water inspector does finally call in to me, I am sure he will tell me that no neighbours reported problems when asked. So despite the fact that something absolutely needs to be done, I will probably be reliant on the water department being generous to the needs of what they see as one complaint.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

The "nobody else has complained" thing is one of the stupidest excuses on earth, but it's a favorite of incompetent customer support people. Ignore it.

Is it safe to assume that you've taken the ugliest possible sample someplace to have it tested? You want this done by an independent lab. Your states environmental agency should be able to help you find one. Or, get out the yellow pages, find a home inspector and they should be able to help.

[None]

A problem for us is that the water never looks terribly bad out of the kitchen tap. It always has tiny particles in it, and a lot of sediment, but the sediment is too fine to cause real discoloration. This sediment builds up in the plumbing system big time though. The water causes what we jokingly refer to as 'yellow palm syndrome' where after you wash your hands... er, your palms go a bit yellow. Disgusting really, and now the slimy problem. The water has become unnaturally slimy, and I honestly don't even want to go near the shower because of it. Yet I have to... that is becoming soul destroying.. lol. The local department now say they won't even come out to me until they send a chemist around to take a sample. I'm not a hateful man... but these people are seriously affecting my life at this point. Another weekend and god knows how much longer that we're gonna have to deal with this problem. All they need to do is flush the f**ckin hydrant, and then at least we can have clean water in the house for a short while, and in that time I can try to convince these people that they absolutely must solve this problem permanently.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

I keep asking this question, and you refuse to answer it for some reason: Have you taken even the first step in finding an INDEPENDENT LAB to test the water? Reason: You want an analysis from someone who's got no concerns about pissing off someone they're cozy with (like their boss), and whose results are not biased by fear of spending money to fix the problem. The water company's chemist may be the most honest person on earth, but his/her results may be skewed by the boss' attitude toward fixing the problem.

If you don't get the water tested independently, it's safe to assume you're really not that concerned about it.

[None]

I have looked into that, so far the lowest price I have seen is a ghastly 300 plus bucks. I will continue looking though, not many of them close by. If I have to pay that, then I will do.