Glenwood Addresses Ongoing Water Issue

Citizens’ complaints about discoloration of the water supply in Glenwood are being addressed and will be resolved within the next few weeks, said Trey Pearson, Vice President and Field Director for Tindall Enterprises, a Blackshear-based company contracted to monitor the city’s water system.

“Simply installing a new water hydrant and flushing the pipes will remedy the problem,” Pearson said.

In a monthly session of the Glenwood City Council held on Monday, June 2, a group of about 20 citizens voiced concerns about the water, specifically in the area north of Glenwood on Georgia Highway 19. “Most of the people doing the complaining don’t even live in the City of Glenwood,” said Mayor G.M. Joiner.

He explained that some years ago the City extended wa- continued from page

ter services to this neighborhood, however the area is not officially annexed, so, essentially City taxpayers are subsidizing this service for a few homes outside the city limits. Joiner said improvements have been made to the water system in the northern section of the City. “We put in more fire hydrants up to the city limit sign and upgraded the pipes,” he said, adding that people outside the city limits who are complaining about the system may want to consider investing in their own water resources.

After receiving complaints from citizens about the state of the water, Joiner sent a letter to the homeowners in this area informing them that the City of Glenwood is not under an obligation to provide this water service but has done so for years to assist residents in this area. Historically, the neighborhood had been served by shallow wells. Joiner said his father, Gerdna Joiner, who was mayor at the time, extended the service to the neighborhood over 45 years ago “just to help people.” He said there are only a few occupied homes in this area now.

Joiner said his own home is served by the city’s water system and has also had brown water issues because, like the people in northern fringe, he is located at the end of the line where natural minerals collect and compress in the line. “This problem can be remedied by flushing the line through the fire hydrants, but that is a catch-22 because flushing the line also stirs up the deposits,” he explained.

Joiner said he is not trying to minimize people’s concerns. “The brown water is not harmful and it’s not a safety issue, but it is an issue. I am not saying that it is not.”

Glenwood’s water system is monitored five days a week by Tindall Enterprises, which tests the samples at its Altamaha Lab. Pearson said the tests are comprehensive and done routinely as dictated by state Environmental Protection Division standards. “Every city water system has a testing schedule laid out by state law. The state sends testing bottles for various issues and monthly reports are forwarded to the state,” Pearson said. He said this routine monitoring has not turned up any health issues related to the recent complaints concerning the Glenwood water system.

“We had one coliform positive (result) about a year a half ago,” he noted. But since then, as his company has tested for bacteria, chlorine and fluoride on a weekly basis, “everything is good.” He added, “Obviously, we have a flushing issue, especially where there have been complaints on the north end of town, but we can remedy that by installing another hydrant downstream so we can flush that area.” Pearson said he attended the June 2 City Council meeting where he informed citizens about the action that could be taken. “That seemed to answer their concerns.”

Pearson explained that naturally occurring minerals pumped in through the aquifer tend to scale to the inside of the water pipe and occasionally break off and travel further downstream. These deposits hit an end point and will concentrate. “When they extended the water line north on Highway 19, they did not at that time put a hydrant on the end of the line.”

The City of Glenwood has two wells and one water tower. Brown water has sometimes been an issue over the last 40 years. “Occasionally we will have some brown-looking water. Everybody does. Basically, it’s iron,” Joiner said, noting the City has not been cited by EPD for any recent violations. “We have nothing to hide. We are addressing it the best we can.”