Residents urged to flush out water before drinking or cooking

Sparta — Residents of Lake Mohawk in Sparta and Lake Summit in Hardyston Township are strongly urged to run their water first thing in the morning to flush out copper that may seep into it during the night. More than 10 percent of 60 homes tested from Lake Mohawk alone, were above the accepted 1.3 milligrams per liter when the water utility conducted federally and state-mandated testing, according to Charles Ryan, the township engineer and water operator. “The scientific community identified that water laying in people’s houses overnight allows the copper to leach into the water,” he said. Families should run their water from 15 to 30 seconds, which allows the sedimentary water to be removed from the copper piping system. People should not use hot water for cooking because the copper dissolves more easily into the water, he said. “Simply, if people run water before using it, it flushes the line out,” Ryan said. “The first flush out, that is your worst condition with copper.” A letter was sent to more than 5,000 residents advising them that higher copper levels had been discovered in the water. About 150 residents requested testing in their homes. The department received results from approximately 70 homes and found only two above state levels, he said. Ryan said the utility is treating wells with pH adjustment chemicals and corrosion inhibitors to alleviate the problem. The water utility is also conducting a study with their water consultants, Hatch, Mott and McDonald out of Millburn, he said. Ryan said they are evaluating what is currently being done to treat wells plus what future treatments can be used to eliminate the problem.