Columbia Heights will continue campaign against orange water

The decadelong fight against orange water in Columbia Heights will go on at least another five years.

The City Council recently approved a plan to continue its ongoing cleaning and lining project through 2019, at a likely cost of around $1.5 million over the five years.

Still, that's about half the cost of replacing the city's aging cast-iron water pipes, which occasionally leach iron into the water supply. And with the fix, the pipes should be good to go for another 40 years or more, said Kevin Hanson, the city's director of public works.

"It's been a really well-received program in the community," Hanson said. "The public is very aware of what's going on. And overwhelmingly, we get a lot of good feedback."

Like many American cities of its era, Columbia Heights used unlined cast-iron pipes in its water system. Over time, they develop iron scale, which typically gets into the water supply in the summertime, most likely because of chemical changes caused by the heat. The city also flushes the pipes every spring, leading to additional orange-water sightings.

In 2004, the city began a cleaning and lining project to deal with the issue. Sections of the system are shut down, and a "pig" — a ribbed metal cylinder — is pulled repeatedly through the pipe. The pig scours the pipe's interior walls of rust. Then, a rotating applicator goes through the pipe and sprays a thin layer of cement on the inside wall.

Each year, the city tracks and maps complaints of rust issues, helping decide where repair efforts should be focused for the coming year. The city of Minneapolis, which sells its water to Columbia Heights, assists with the excavation work, and a third-party contractor handles the actual cleaning and lining.

In the coming years, the program will cut back to 4,000-5,000 feet a year, with an annual budget of about $300,000. Hanson said the reduction in future years is simply a matter of budget priorities.

The city does everything it can to inform affected residents, Hanson said, with mailings and community meetings well in advance of the work. Homes in the affected areas get a temporary water supply from hoses hooked to their outdoor faucet spigots; the work usually takes from two to four weeks for each section.

Iron in the water can be pretty common in Minnesota, Hanson said.

"I live on a well at home, and there are times I get it," he said. "But there's an expectation that when you turn on your tap, you get crystal clear water."

The city notes that the iron isn't known to be a health risk and that the water is tested to ensure that it complies with state and federal standards.