ABINGTON, MASS. (WHDH) - The water on Oak Street in Abington was running clear Tuesday, but that was not the case the night before. Residents say dark orange, almost brown, water was coming out of their faucets on Monday.
“We couldn’t use water for cooking, drinking, showering,” said one resident.
Abington Rockland Water Department was flushing the lines.
They say they usually do it twice a year to get rid of the iron that settles in the bottom of the pipes. One resident in the area told 7News that she had no warning to what was happening on Monday.
“There are other towns that I’ve seen that have posted the streets will be flushing hydrants on such and such a day, that way we know,” said one resident.
Abington Rockland Water Superintendent Dan Callahan said they give people a month-long time frame, but they don’t know the exact day their street will be cleaned.
Callahan said that making matters worse this year, the department couldn’t flush the lines in the fall due to the drought. That has made the job this spring take longer and the water look darker. Callahan said he knows the water looks ugly, but said it isn’t a health issue.
“We don’t like to have to see people go through this nuisance, but we don’t have a choice of cleaning up the system,” said Superintendent Callahan.
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