Dirty water keeps on flowing

This sample of water was provided this morning by a Bell Buckle water system customer. She said this water was cleaner than it has been, possibly due to flushing yesterday. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The dirty water pouring out of faucets from the Bell Buckle lines has customers annoyed and the water department mystified.

"Ronnie is in the field and he's got everybody and his little brother working on it day and night," said Bell Buckle Mayor Dennis Webb, referring to Water Department Supervisor Ronnie Lokey.

According to Webb, the majority of the water discoloration is taking place along Bell Buckle-Wartrace Road. The town changed its water source from Wartrace to the Bedford County Utility Board last month, which meant instead of flowing from Wartrace to Bell Buckle, water was moving the other direction. It was originally thought that the cause was dirt and rust particles dislodged when the water flow changed direction.

Webb said another source was thought to be a leak from when Wartrace was still the town's supplier and some ground water got into the system.

"But flushing should have corrected both of those problems," he said.

And Bell Buckle has definitely been flushing. Lokey has been out late almost every night with his team, constantly flushing and re-flushing the lines in the affected areas, said Webb.

"It will be clear, then a couple of days later, it comes back," he said.

State help

"We are letting every state agency know about our unique problem," said Webb. "And it is unique."

Currently, two state agencies are helping the town, trying to determine the origin of the rust-colored water, as well as determining its safety, the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Webb said the water is constantly being tested for safety and so far, the tests have been negative for coliform bacteria, which would determine the existence of fecal material.

He said the state agencies wouldn't hesitate to shut the water down if they thought there was a possible health hazard, but, in fact, they seemed to be as puzzled as Bell Buckle's water department. They say the town has done everything it should be doing to clean up the water -- it just isn't working.

"We think there's a possibility of a ground leak in the water line in that particular area," said Webb. "The good water flows through the line and just kind of sucks the groundwater in. We'd already made plans for a man who does leak surveys to come in -- we just asked him to bump up the schedule."

Another possibility is something called iron bacteria, when iron in certain lines gets out of control. If that turns out to be the source, it will mean even more extensive flushing and chlorination, said Webb.

"It could be many things," he said, "even what we originally thought."

One source has been ruled out for the discolored water, and that's BCUD.

"We've checked at every point of entry from BCUD lines and it's all clean," said the mayor.

Local help

One thing the mayor does know about the discolored water is that it is making Bell Buckle customers unhappy.

"We know that this has been a major inconvenience to several of our customers and we are working around the clock to correct the problem as soon as possible," said Webb. "As we become aware of new information, we'll be sure and pass it along."

He said the customers themselves can help by calling in and reporting problems with their water. Since it often runs clean after a flushing, the water department needs to know when the discolored water reappears. Customers can call the town hall at 389-9513 or the water department at 389-9566.