Over the past month or two there've been times when our water pressure has been almost non-existent. During the past couple of days I've noticed that the toilet water isn't clear (it almost looks as though I've put enough milk in to discolor the water). Today, because the water pressure was so low, I decided to just fill the tub rather than try to shower. It got about half-full in maybe 30-40 minutes, but there were black particles (looked/felt like plastic), the larger ones when flattened might cover half a penny. The water also tasted dirty today for the first time. I think that the city might have done something in the street because we've stopped flooding this year--our part of the cul-de-sac used to hold quite a bit of water. Money is tight and I'm afraid of making a wrong move. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Call the city and ask if any work has been done on the city main. You have to find out if this is a internal problem or one caused by the city. Let me know what they said. Regards, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

Call the city and ask if any work has been done on the city main. You have to find out if this is a internal problem or one caused by the city. Let me know what they said. Regards, Tom

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Thanks, Tom. It took a little while to get an answer out of the city, but they say they've done nothing this year. The guy I just spoke with said I need to find out whether I have copper or galvanized piping. In the basement, it's clearly copper.

It sounds like your municipality uses chloramines to disinfect the water. They can deny that this is an issue in the system if they want to, but this is an ongoing issue with every municipal supply that has switched from chlorine to chloramines disinfection. Ask them if they can come out and flush the fire hydants near your home. That will probably take care of the problem. They are supposed to routinely flush anyway. Flushing is now part of the Department of Environmental Protections safe drinking water program.

The black buildup is called bio-film. If it has come loose from the pipes, it probably has clogged your PRV, or the strainer on your RPZ backflow prevention valve. Or, it may have plugged a strainer on your water meter. You can pick up a test gauge from your local hardware. Screw it onto your spigot outside and see what you get. You should be getting 50 or more psi.
Let us know.
Al

Thanks Al,
Great explanation! I hope you don't mind if I copy it and add it to my data base. Tom

Sure Tom,
You can always do that. I figure right, or wrong, regardless once we put it on the net. It is public information! But, I certainly appreciate you asking. Have a good day.
Al

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Originally Posted by albinfla

It sounds like your municipality uses chloramines to disinfect the water. They can deny that this is an issue in the system if they want to, but this is an ongoing issue with every municipal supply that has switched from chlorine to chloramines disinfection. Ask them if they can come out and flush the fire hydants near your home. That will probably take care of the problem. They are supposed to routinely flush anyway. Flushing is now part of the Department of Environmental Protections safe drinking water program.

The black buildup is called bio-film. If it has come loose from the pipes, it probably has clogged your PRV, or the strainer on your RPZ backflow prevention valve. Or, it may have plugged a strainer on your water meter. You can pick up a test gauge from your local hardware. Screw it onto your spigot outside and see what you get. You should be getting 50 or more psi.
Let us know.
Al

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Thanks. I'll keep that in mind if we continue having problems. The city insisted they'd done nothing in the past 2-3 years, so I called a plumber. At first he was scratching his head because we have copper piping and then discovered something in our basement that I hadn't understood before. Someone bought a water softner (I guess typically used for people with well water) and hooked it up behind the water heater. I'd always ignored it. I'm hoping the bio-film you mentioned is from that. The plumber's theory is that because it hasn't been maintained gunk (or whatever) accumulated in there causing a dramatic decrease in water pressure. Then the gunk would come through discoloring the water and making it taste very odd. All he did was re-route the water and I had normal water and water pressure. This was yesterday, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it was all based on this water softner (which looks like the water heater only 1/3 as wide). Cost $50. Keeping my fingers crossed that this was it and that I'd worried about a multi-thousand dollar repair for nothing.

Thanks to you both for taking the time to read my note and coming up with solutions.

Wow, your plumber was cheap! This was not the municipal supply issue this time.

But, bio-film was the issue. This is a common problem with municipal supplies on chloramine disinfection. You should still find out if they use chloramines to treat your water. If they do, and the problem comes back, you'll probably know where to look.

Thanks for keeping us updated.
Al