Bowie residents say it’s not clear why their water isn’t clear
Bowie residents have long complained about occasionally discolored tap water, but the complaints have increased in recent days, as has the amount of brown-tinged water coming out of faucets, according to residents.
The highest concentration of complaints appear to be from residents in the Somerset and Foxhill neighborhoods, which aren’t far from where work has been occurring to replace cast iron water mains installed in the 1960s.
“It looks like the color of a Miller Light, or like a light beer,” said Sal Giglio, who posted one of the videos showing the water on social media.
In that video, he called the situation “ridiculous.”
“We’ve been in this house for 15 years, and over the years, we’ve seen it sporadically,” he said. “We know that they’re flushing the hydrant and things of that nature, and that’s going to naturally happen. But it’s very evident, almost at least once or twice a week in our home and many other homes in this area.”
The city agreed there is a problem, and blamed it on iron oxide deposits (rust) inside the old pipes. According to city officials, it’s a problem impacting local governments all across the country.
Acting City Manager Daniel Mears said the problem seems worse than usual because of a series of unrelated events, such as water main breaks and a fire, that have occurred in recent weeks that have helped to stir up sediment.
“We also had some scheduled work in regards to valve testing that had occurred on March 25 and that work also contributed to that,” Mears said.
A few years ago, the city started a program to begin replacing the worst of the worst water mains, which will cost roughly $2 million for every mile of repair — a price tag subject to inflation and other price fluctuations in the construction industry. The city is investing $5 million in water main repairs over the next fiscal year, its biggest expenditure on that type of repair ever. Ultimately, it will probably take 20-25 years to replace everything, according to Mears.
“We need to spend a continual effort in addressing this aging infrastructure,” Mears said. “It did not get older overnight, and it will not be resolved overnight.”
For now, Giglio said he’s buying bottled water by the case just to be safe.
“Before we start a load of laundry, we have to run a load to see what the water content looks like,” the Bowie resident said. “So it’s just unnecessary things that we have to add to our day.”
For that, the city does offer residents rust remover for laundry mishaps. Giglio said he is also hoping whoever wins this week’s mayoral election will try to expedite the water main repairs.
“Even if it means bringing in outside help from different areas in order to combat this issue,” he said. This lifelong resident is also even willing to start helping with the replacement work himself.
“Frankly, we deserve better in this city. We pay a lot of money for water.”