November 2021 Pierre Mayor's Report

Treated Water Coming Soon, System Flushing Coming Sooner
In June 2018, Pierre voters decided we should improve our drinking water by building a water treatment facility. In July 2020, the building design and construction plan was unveiled. By this time next year, people living in Pierre should be enjoying that new drinking water.

We have already completed the water intake located on the north side of Sioux Avenue near the car bridge. You might remember, in March, we floated and sunk a 714 foot pipe just north of the train bridge. That pipe brings water to the pump structure that we built just west of the Ramkota. That pump structure then conveys the water under Sioux Avenue to the new treatment facility.

That treatment facility is taking shape! Much of the exterior work is done. That means interior work is underway including painting, concrete work and installation of the treatment equipment.  

The intake and water treatment facility are two pieces of this very large system. The third component is the distribution system –the pipes that take the water from the treatment facility to your faucet.

We’re fortunate that we can retrofit our existing distribution system for the new treatment facility. But before we start pushing new water through those pipes, we need to clean them. Our existing water has a high mineral content. Those minerals can settle in the pipelines. So, for the next several weeks, we’re going to push a whole lot of water at a high speed through the pipes to clear out pipeline deposits. This is similar to the flushing process the fire department does each year.

The flushing process can cause temporary water discoloration. Despite any temporary color change, the water remains safe for drinking and bathing. To clear discolored water, when your neighborhood is flushed, run cold water, preferably from an outside spigot, until the water color returns to normal. Consider waiting to use home filtering systems, water softeners, dishwashers or washing machines until the water runs clear.

Also, pressure variations during the flushing process may cause some fire suppression systems to alarm.

The lines will be flushed in zones. We’ll start in the northern part of the community and then move south from there. Clearing all six zones could take up to a month.

To find out when your neighborhood is being flushed, visit public.alertsense.com. There you can opt into a free text message or email that will alert you when your neighborhood is scheduled for flushing. In the meantime, visit cityofpierre.org and click on the drinking water treatment facility link. There you can find an outline of the flushing sequence, as well as frequently asked questions about the flushing process.

This will take us one step closer to the new water that we have been working on for nearly four years. Treated water will be here soon!