Riverhead Water District to conduct ‘modified fall flushing’ this week in central portion of town

The Riverhead Water District will be flushing its water mains this week in central Riverhead.

The flushing will take place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Oct. 31 through Nov. 6 in the following areas:

Roanoke Avenue from Middle Road to Reeves Avenue
Reeves Avenue from Roanoke to Doctors Path
Doctors Path from Reeves Avenue to Middle Road
Middle Road from Doctors Path to Roanoke Avenue

The flushing will not affect mains outside of this area, Riverhead Water District Superintendent Mark Conklin said.

All water district customers who live in this area should check their water before doing any laundry, he said. If the water is discolored, run the cold water only for several minutes. If the water is still discolored, wait a while and try again.

The water district flushes all of its mains district-wide every spring. In the past, it conducted a district-wide fall flushing too, but that practice was stopped about 10 years ago, Conklin said. He implemented a “modified fall flushing” last year to better maintain the water lines in an area served by wells known to pump water having higher levels of iron and manganese. The area is also densely populated, with several single-family housing developments, a large rental apartment complex and four large condominium communities.

“When they stopped the fall flushing there was more iron in the lines in the spring and that was giving us problems, so when I became superintendent, I started the modified fall flushing in this area to address that,” Conklin said.

For additional information, call the water district at 631-727-3205 ext. 234, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.