City Water crews will start our annual fire hydrant flushing program Sunday night April 30, during overnight hours.
Crews expect to finish this year’s flushing within about two weeks, in mid-May. Crews are flushing hydrants overnight, Sunday through Thursday, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
You can generally expect to see our crews move through the city in this order:
- Phase 1 – Pennfield and low-pressure areas – generally from North Avenue east nearly to McAlister, and beyond Pennbrook to the north, south to about Michigan Avenue (tan and gray-blue sections of the attached map)
- Phase 2 – low-pressure area – generally the Central Business District/downtown, Michigan Avenue east and M-66 south to just south of Columbia Avenue (gray-blue section on map)
- Phase 3 – low-pressure area – generally Urbandale, west of North Avenue not quite to Collier, and from Harmonia Road north to just north of Morgan Road (gray-blue section on map)
- Phase 4 – high-pressure area – Fort Custer Industrial Park area northwest of Springfield, south along Hill Brady Road and Skyline Drive, from the south border of Springfield to around Columbia Avenue, and southwest to I-94 (rust section on map)
- Phase 5 – high-pressure area – generally south of Columbia Avenue to Beckley Road, and further south around Capital Avenue SW and M-66, east to and north/south on Beadle Lake Road (rust section on map)
- Phase 6 – Gethings, Beadle Lake, and Emmett areas – square area around Gethings and Stone Jug roads, streets between Columbia and Golden avenues, and south on Beadle Lake Road past I-94; east on Michigan Avenue to around Ackerson (east of 11 Mile) (green, purple, and yellow sections on map)
The flushing process often results in cloudy or discolored water; please be mindful of this while doing laundry or other tasks that could be affected. We do what we can to limit this, and the water always is safe during the process.
Discolored or rusty water may be present in the area where crews are flushing, as well as in neighboring areas. If you see discolored water from your taps, we recommend that you run the cold water in your home or business.
You might see water pressure changes while we flush, but those should be brief. We do not shut off water during this process, and boil water advisories are not necessary. If you do lose water pressure for a long period, or completely, check your aerators first. If the problem continues, please call us at 269-966-3506, option 2. After 4 p.m. or on the weekend you can reach water crews at 269-966-3493.
This information will be posted on our website, battlecreekmi.gov. Check out the City Spotlight section at the bottom of the home page. Staff will update the website daily with maps of flushing progress across the city, so neighbors can follow along.
Flushing hydrants and water mains provides several benefits to our water system users. Regular flushing provides water of the highest quality to our customers. It also allows our crews to verify that our water system is operating properly, and identify areas that require repair and/or maintenance. It also ensures that fire hydrants are ready for use should the Fire Department need them.
We appreciate everyone’s patience as we maintain our city’s infrastructure.