Under new management, the city’s public works office is preparing a solution report for the city council.
BOWIE, Md. – A long history of complaints about brown water leaking from faucets in Bowie, Md. Has attracted new attention after a new public works director took over the helm in September.
One of Jose Aldayuz’s first big jobs will be to inform Bowie City Council how bad the problem is and what it will take to fix it. A report is due in January, said Aldayuz.
Pat Clunies, who lives in the Meadowbrook neighborhood, said she had been plagued by intermittent periods of dirty tap water for decades.
“It happens regularly,” said Clunies as she poured a slightly cloudy glass of water into her kitchen sink. “It’ll be fine that way. Then I’ll go in for a shower and I’ll get brown water. It’s frustrating because we don’t know when it’s going to happen or why. We assume it’s the old pipes.” . “
Aldayuz says the city’s 90-mile, cast-iron aqueduct, which supplies nearly 8,000 households, is nearly 60 years old in some areas and has been badly rusted inside. In some cases the deposit is so heavy that the pipes cannot transport the water in the required amount.
As a result, according to the city, a program to flush the pipes was intensified, which led to more and more complaints.
“The city of Bowie has 145 kilometers of cast iron piping infrastructure that was created in the 1960s. That is the overall problem, “said Aldayuz.
State and federal reports show that the city’s water exceeds federal safety standards for pollutants such as lead.
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Tap water from residents’ homes has also been tested in recent months and has been shown to be safe for human consumption, Aldayuz said.
“Any resident who wants me to try it, I’ll go for a drink,” he said.
But the discoloration problem stains clothing and can carry odors, according to Clunies.
Aladyuz said it needed repair, and estimated the cost to be $ 1.2 to $ 1.5 million per mile.
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According to Aldayuz, the city council’s first priority is to rehabilitate or replace at least 11 km of rusty, 60-year-old pipes at an estimated cost of $ 14 million. Meanwhile, the city has been handing out free chemical treatments to help residents remove rust stains from their laundry and is offering a $ 50 discount on home filter systems.
Aldayz hopes Biden’s infrastructure bill could help the city of Bowie pay for the final solution, which will take time to design and build, he warns.
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