The Water Department announced Wednesday that the water discoloration that started Tuesday is expected to continue for “a few days” while the department works to flush hydrants.

In an interview with the Independent Wednesday morning, Water and Sewer Director Eric Carty explained what he believed happened to cause the water discoloration and the impact it is having on residents.

“What we do know is that at 12:30 a.m. [Tuesday] morning, we are pretty sure that someone opened a fire hydrant all the way and kept it open for about 20 minutes,” he said. “We can tell when there is an issue with the hydrants because they have smart hydrant technology.”

Smart hydrant technology allows “accurate real-time data to measure water extractions and pipeline flow data,” according to the website for Orbis Intelligent Systems Inc., a company that manufactures smart hydrants and retrofitting devices.

“There was a huge pressure drop, which indicated that a hydrant had been opened, and opened fully,” Carty continued, noting that the pressure drop occurred at Ash Street, near Main Street. “Twenty minutes later, the Grove Street tanks had a corresponding drop.”

The reasoning behind opening the hydrant remains unclear, he added.

“We don’t know if someone was trying to fill up a tank or why this was done,” he said. “I just hope this is a one and done. My fear is that something like this could happen again.”

Carty said the force of the water pressure from the opening “scoured all of the minerals off of the main line.”

“We have to slowly flush the system because of the duration and extent of the minerals  released,” he explained. “As pumps turn on and off reversing flows, it will stir up the minerals that were dislodged during the event. If we do it faster, it could cause additional minerals to be dislodged. So it will take a few days to clean up the muck.”

While it is “very frustrating” for the Water Department to deal with a situation like this, Carty expressed empathy for the residents who have been impacted by the water discoloration.

“I feel so bad for the residents,” he said. “I wish this was something we could control. It’s hard to tell when exactly it’s going to clear.”

It was particularly frustrating for Carty, as the department had experienced two water main breaks over the past winter. It initiated a town fire hydrant flushing effort in the spring to clean the mains.

Said Carty: “After all we did, this just stirred up more minerals and more work.”

He assured the community that the water is safe despite its brown color, but it is not recommended for doing laundry. Flushing cold water pipes typically will clear up the issue, allowing trapped sediments to be released.

Residents can check the town’s water discoloration notice for more information on managing dirty water.