City Announces Hydrant Flushing, Warns of Water Discoloration

The city of Bowie announced the schedule for its annual maintenance of fire hydrants in areas served by city water. The hydrants will be flushed and tested starting in April. See the .

Although the water may appear discolored during the hydrant flushing process, the city says the water is safe to drink. Residents are discouraged from washing their clothes with discolored water, which should clear within 24 hours.

The hydrant flushing has nothing to do with what happened last week when some residents experienced , according to Una Cooper, communications coordinator for the city of Bowie.

"Last week's brown water was caused by a chemical imbalance in the filtration system at the water plant that allowed too much iron to get into the system," Cooper said. "It was a highly unusual occurrence, but it did affect a majority of the City of Bowie's Water System customers. It was cleared up at the plant in less than 24 hours but took longer for all of the lines into residences to run clear."