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Water / Sewer

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1. What are the black specks in my drinking water?

This is a harmless mineral that exists naturally in our drinking water and becomes visible the longer it is exposed to oxygen. Watering your lawn is the quickest and easiest way of flushing your water pipes. Occasionally, the City will flush neighborhood fire hydrants to reduce this nuisance.

2. What are the white floating specks or flakes in my water?

White flakes are typically a naturally occurring, harmless mineral called calcium. As water is exposed to oxygen, minerals precipitate and become visible. Home water filters are a typical way to get rid of these nuisance minerals.

3. Who is responsible for unplugging a sewage clog?

If your sewer is backing up only when you flush a toilet, run water down a sink drain, do laundry, or wash disses, the plug would be in the house plumbing or the sewer service line that connects to the City's main. In this case, you should call a plumber or rent a machine to unplug the line.

On the other hand, you can recognize a plugged City main because sewage will continually backup and not stop until the City responds by unplugging the City main. Contact the Police Department at (308) 762-4955 to report a plugged sewer and the on call person can assist in determining the location of a plugged line.

4. Why is my water bill so high?

Water rates have been increasing in part to promote conservation as well as to pay for recently mandated treatment costs. The most common problem for high water bills are hidden leaks. The most common is a leaking toilet. This can be detected by putting food coloring in the toilet tank or dye tabs provided for free by the Water Department. Without flushing, observe if the toilet water in the bowl is changing color, if so, you have a leaking flapper valve. This should be replaced. If you own a water softener, pay particular attention to when and how long the softener recharges to waste. Occasionally these units stick in a permanent recharge mode and waste a tremendous amount of water. Have your unit checked often.