The Navy says it will assist any residents of military housing who need help flushing their water systems.
Preparations are underway to flush the Navy’s water distribution infrastructure. That will eventually expand to include individual homes where residents have complained for weeks about a petroleum odor and oily sheen to their tap water.
To ensure that contaminated water is not returned to the environment, Navy Commander John Daly says they are bringing in large carbon filtration units to clean the water.
"So the fate of those contaminants we know this to be that they — the contaminant that’s in our system will go into that media and then it can be safely removed later. So we’re flying these units in from the mainland, they were procured under an emergency-style contract," Daly said.
Officials say flushing the water in homes involves more than simply turning on the tap.
Clean water will have to be run through appliances such as the water heater, refrigerator, dishwasher and washing machine before they can be used.
The Navy says it is working with stakeholders — including the state Department of Health and researchers from Purdue University — to finalize a plan to flush the distribution system, as well as guidelines for residents to make sure their water is safe.
