HELENA — You may have noticed discolored water with an odor, but no need to worry; it is part of the city’s water system maintenance project.
The project involves replacing valve components on the water transmission main that connects the Ten Mile Water Treatment Plant to the city of Helena’s reservoirs.
This will be done in a few phases, and we are in the first one right now. This phase limits the water supply from the Ten-Mile Water Treatment Plant and supplements it with water from the Missouri River Treatment Plant until the construction is complete.
Whenever the Missouri River Plant is turned on, it is common that some residents experience slight discoloration or odor in their water.
City of Helena engineer Jamie Clark said, “That is surface water so it typically has more of a taste and odor than the stuff coming off snow melt and then this time of year the reservoir we pull the water from in the Helena Valley regulating reservoir, it turns over which means the warm water on top settles to the bottom and that can stir things up.”
The water is still safe to use and consume, and you can flush out the tap by letting it run until the cloudiness is gone.
