Heat gets blame for bubbly water

The drought and hot weather, along with pH levels and the hardness of the local water, have combined to create a perception problem about the safety of the city's drinking water.

While officials emphasize there is nothing unsafe about the water, some people are beginning to notice a cloudiness or milkiness that is unsettling to some users, according to Water Department Superintendent Steve Kelley.

"If you get a glass of water and can't see through it I can understand their concern," he said about water customers.

"Certain sections of town are experiencing cloudiness, it looks like bubbles in the water," Kelley told the Beatrice Board of Public Works Board of Directors on Wednesday. "It's not widespread."

Kelley said the temperature of the water at the wells is

56 degrees, but going through the city's piping system raises that temperature to 69 degrees in the pipes, due to the hot weather and drought.

"The composition of the water is changing slightly," he said, "so is the pH. The result is that calcium bicarbonate is being released. It is released as bubbles."

The pH level is used to gauge the corrosive or scale-forming quality of the water. On that scale, a seven is neutral, while anything under that is considered acidic. Above that is considered alkaline, or scale-forming. Beatrice's drinking water has a naturally-occurring pH of between 6.9 and 7.3.

The cloudy water was first reported toward the end of June, Kelley said, and it was thought to be a problem with the city's south pump station.

Then it was suspected to have something to do with the city's disinfection system.

So the disinfection was stopped at the end of July, but water testing indicated a bacterial hit the first week in August.

"It was that quick," Kelley said, and forced the department to resume disinfecting the water. But the disinfection process started at a lower level.

"At half strength it wasn't so bad," he said, "but it still does it.

"Anytime it's (water) above 62 degrees the cloudiness, the milkiness comes back," Kelley said.

But there isn't much that can be done about it.

Kelley also said that the problem is more prominent in areas of low water pressure, particularly the areas from Lincoln to Dorsey streets and from Sixth to 16th streets.

"We've done pretty much everything we can," Kelley said. "There is nothing unhealthy or unsafe about the water system."

The good news is that as the weather cools off, the problem may go away.

"Given some cooler temperatures it (the milkiness) should dissipate on its own," he said.

The bubbles do dissipate on their own if the water is left to sit for about 30 seconds.