Thousands of homes water supply could be affected, as Affinity Water is undertaking a programme of mains flushing on Romney Marsh possibly affecting 4,700 properties.
Work will begin in September in New Romney and then move on to Lydd-on-Sea, Littlestone and Greatstone. A flushing programme in St Mary’s Bay was completed in August.
There will be some limited interruptions of supply for customers and these will be scheduled overnight whenever possible to minimise inconvenience. Letters will be sent to all homes and businesses affected.
Special arrangements are being made for any customers who need a constant supply of water for medical reasons.
Affinity Water Community Operations Manager Roy Burvill says the programme will remove iron and manganese sediment from local mains pipes which can cause discolouration of supply.
He says: “Naturally occurring iron and manganese in local water have led to problems in the past and we are taking steps to minimise the possibility of this happening again in future.
“We have invested £4m in an upgrade of the Denge Water Treatment Works to more effectively remove iron and manganese and are now undertaking a comprehensive mains cleaning programme to remove existing deposits of sediment.”
Most customers should see no change in their water supply while the flushing work is undertaken but on occasions water could be discoloured for a short time. This discoloured water does not pose any health risks. Customers should be able to quickly remove discolouration by letting taps run and flushing the discoloured water from their systems.
General information on mains flushing is available on the company website www.affinitywater.co.uk/mains-flushing.aspx.
