Fix water mains, not the band shell

Dear Editor,

This letter is in response to the article that was in the Gazette on Thursday, Jan. 6 about the iron deposits and discolored water. My wife was one the two residents who called the city water department to report this problem.

She spoke with Mr. Dutcher on Tuesday, Jan. 4. The problem began on Sunday afternoon Jan. 2, while I was taking a shower. I looked down to see I was standing in about 4 inches of very dark reddish brown water and the drain was clogged with these deposits. After I got the water drained, I could not even see the bottom of the tub. It took some heavy-duty chemicals and scrubbing to remove these deposits from the tub.

I don't think Mr. Dutcher or anyone in the water department realizes the severity of this problem. I have lived in this house for nearly five years now and this discoloration problem is a regular occurrence, at least two or three times a year.

When we call, we always get a different excuse. I am very worried about what this is doing to my appliances and to our health. There is a lot more iron than the "daily allowance" of iron when this happens.

This last incident took five days to clear up, and it takes quite a bit more than a few minutes of running the water, to flush it out. Why should we have to pay for the water to flush it out? Mr. Dutcher's solution is to install a filter. This is about a $200 bill. Is the city going to pay for this? Why can't they fix the problem at their end, like the old water mains? I think it is time the city starts fixing some of these problems that are "life's necessities" instead of a band shell that gets used maybe twice a year.

I don't now how widespread this problem is when it happens, but I would encourage more residents to call the water department when it does happen again so maybe we can get this problem fixed. I am sure that until the problem is fixed, it will happen again.

Thank you,

Jim Turcotte,

McCook