Building Flushing Guidance - Water Quality

When any size building experiences low or no water use, the water quality can degrade over a short period of time. This is always a concern when buildings are vacant or experience low or no water use, no matter the reason for the vacancy or reduction in usage.                                                                                                                                        

The City of Warrenville uses chlorine to disinfect the water, and the longer the water sits in the pipes in building, the more the chlorine dissipates. Loss of this chlorine will reduce the quality of the water and could cause illness or disease along with taste and odor issues. Additionally, levels of pipe materials like copper could increase in the water, due to the water sitting for long periods of time inside copper plumbing pipes.

Below is a link to a document for building flushing guidance for periods of low or no use. 

Building Water Quality and Coronavirus: Flushing Guidance for Periods of Low or No Use (LINK to PDF)

The building flushing guidance document was developed due to the increase in buildings with low or no use of water, due to the Stay At Home Executive Order issued by the Governor during the current pandemic. However, the practices in the document are relevant at all times when buildings experience low to no water use.

It is important to note that the drinking water provided by the City of Warrenville is safe to drink, meeting all United States Environmental Protection Act (USEPA) drinking water health standards. This remains true, even during the pandemic.