News Flash

Westlake Public Works received notification from the City of Fort Worth about the need to begin flushing hydrants due to lower-than-normal levels of disinfectant in the area's water distribution system. Westlake staff are out in the community flushing hydrants now and you may see them continuing this service over the next few days. It is important to know that while the disinfectant levels in this area are lower than normal, the water quality continues to meet all state and federal standards.

Since Westlake purchases water wholesale from Ft. Worth, we want our water customers to be aware in case they begin to experience low water pressure or a possible discoloration in the water. Again, the flushing is being done as a precaution to help maintain the correct water qualities and level of our water. 

Flushing – where crews open fire hydrants – gets older water out of the affected parts of the system, and replaces it with new water that has higher levels of disinfectant. This process is considered an industry best practice to maintain water quality.

According to the Ft. Worth Water Department, another additional measure is the use of tablets at the flushing sites to remove chlorine from the water, which protects aquatic life in nearby streams. The situation was caused by very low water use in the area, combined with a chemical feed problem at the Eagle Mountain Water Plant last week. Low water use increases the water’s age, which can lead to lower disinfectant levels.