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Dealing With
Iron Conditions From Wells #4 and #5
Wells #4 and #5
contain elevated iron levels in the water, which
pose no health risks, yet cause staining and taste
problems in the southwest part of town. The
chemicals that are used to treat the water,
"sequester" the iron, keeping it in
solution form. Unfortunately, there are several
factors that can cause the iron to
"precipitate" into solid form. If your
hot water heater is set to higher than 180°, if
the water is in contact with oxygen,
"air" for a period of time and if
chlorine bleach is added to the water in the wash.
The solutions are to turn your hot water setting
to lower than the 180°, 120° is usually plenty.
This will also help reduce your heating costs. If
you have a toilet that is not used often, flush it
occasionally. When the water in the toilet
evaporates, the iron comes in contact with the air
forming the iron ring stains. If you notice iron
stains in the dishwasher, you can run it through
empty, with some "tang" or iron out, to
remove them. We give out free bottles of iron out
to our customers. When doing your laundry, try to
avoid using hot water. Also if you use bleach,
only use "chlorine free" bleach.
Chlorine reacts with the iron causing it to
precipitate into solid form.
Filters for
removing iron, will only work when the iron has
already precipitated out. This is not a common
occurrence for sequestered iron. When the iron is
sequestered, it passes right through the filter
medium. However for taste considerations, a
charcoal filter will improve the taste
considerably. Also if you put a bottle of water in
the refrigerator, this well help eliminate some
taste problems.
Corrective
action by the Water Department
During the winter
months when demand is low, we run wells #4 and #5,
sparingly to limit the amount of iron levels
entering the system. We are currently conducting a
water quality study to determine a more effective
form of treatment. We are also about a year away
from receiving water from the new state of the art
treatment plant that we helped build with the Town
of Ashland. This plant will deliver water that has
had iron and all other undesirable minerals
removed from it. This should allow us to
only runs well 4 and 5 for emergencies or very
high demands
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