Village Clerk Anita Estling delivered a statement today on behalf of the village Department of Public Works.

“Due to preventative maintenance at the pump house this week, there is a chance that you’ll see discolored water in your homes and businesses. There is no danger and the water is still drinkable. The Health Department is in close contact with the situation and if at any time there is a health alert the public will be notified.”

DPW Superintendent Brad Hathaway said the department is cleaning its contact time tanks – equipment used after the water filtration process.

“We’re cleaning the very bottom of the tanks with a big [wet-dry vacuum],” he said. “And we’re also flushing some of the fire hydrants, so there is a chance sediment can appear in drinking water.”

The sediment at the bottom of these tanks is polyaluminum chloride, or PAC, a chemical that clarifies water.

“Nothing in the tanks is a health concern,” Hathaway said.

Hathaway said the company doing the cleaning, Liquid Engineering Corporation, said sediment might not even appear in drinking water, so the online notice was just a way of assuring residents their water is clean. Liquid Engineering will also clean the village’s 1.5 million gallon storage tank and make sure the lines connecting Mirror Lake to municipal water systems are clear.

Hathaway added that he would’ve liked to get this cleaning done in a different season, but the consistent heat and level of tourism calls for the cleaning now.