Sandy city advises residents to flush water after fluoride, lead, copper contamination
Feb 15, 2019 08:41PM ● By Justin Adams
A "conservative" map of the estimated impact area. (Sandy City)
By Justin Adams | [email protected]
Sandy city is advising residents to flush their water supply after a previously known fluoride contamination was found to also include lead and copper on Friday.
"In an abundance of caution, Sandy City is asking citizens to flush their water system if they haven’t done so already. A full flush includes running all hot water taps for 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of running all cold water taps," said a Sandy city press release.
The contamination was caused when a power outage on Feb. 5 caused a city water pump to stop working. However, a small fluoride pump continued to pump the chemical into the city's water system.
After initial discovery last week, the city public works department immediately isolated the affected section (approximately 11026 South to 11125 South and 1850 East to 1950 East) of the water system by closing the corresponding valves.
The impact was initially estimated to be limited to about 40-50 households, Sandy's public utilities director, Tom Ward, told the Sandy Journal on Feb. 12 during a city council meeting when the contamination was initially acknowledged.
The possible impact zone has now been extended to a much larger area: from 700 E to 2140 E and from 10600 S to 11400 S.
In a live-streamed press conference Ward theorized that the lead and copper contamination was caused by the acidity of the fluoride dissolving build-up in the city's water system.
Sandy Mayor Kurt Bradburn said that all residents within the impacted area would be credited with the cost of flushing their water system, which he estimated to be about $7.
This article will be updated as the Sandy Journal learns more information.
Sandy city is advising residents to flush their water supply after a previously known fluoride contamination was found to also include lead and copper on Friday.
"In an abundance of caution, Sandy City is asking citizens to flush their water system if they haven’t done so already. A full flush includes running all hot water taps for 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of running all cold water taps," said a Sandy city press release.
The contamination was caused when a power outage on Feb. 5 caused a city water pump to stop working. However, a small fluoride pump continued to pump the chemical into the city's water system.
After initial discovery last week, the city public works department immediately isolated the affected section (approximately 11026 South to 11125 South and 1850 East to 1950 East) of the water system by closing the corresponding valves.
The impact was initially estimated to be limited to about 40-50 households, Sandy's public utilities director, Tom Ward, told the Sandy Journal on Feb. 12 during a city council meeting when the contamination was initially acknowledged.
The possible impact zone has now been extended to a much larger area: from 700 E to 2140 E and from 10600 S to 11400 S.
In a live-streamed press conference Ward theorized that the lead and copper contamination was caused by the acidity of the fluoride dissolving build-up in the city's water system.
Sandy Mayor Kurt Bradburn said that all residents within the impacted area would be credited with the cost of flushing their water system, which he estimated to be about $7.
This article will be updated as the Sandy Journal learns more information.
