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Water Authority: upgrades to underground piping in Marcy not contributing to brown water

By JOLEEN FERRIS

Story Created: Aug 17, 2011 at 1:00 PM EDT

Story Updated: Aug 17, 2011 at 1:00 PM EDT

MARCY, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Mohawk Valley Water Authority is doing major upgrades to the system's underground piping near Barnes Ave and Mohawk Street in Marcy.

Runners who use the path parallel to the NYS Thruway in that area wonder whether the project could in some way be contributing to the discolored water many are still seeing throughout the Mohawk Valley.

Water Authority Engineer Dick Goodney, who is in charge of the project, says that isn't possible.

"No connection work has been made and as a matter of fact, none of the tunneling or drilling has even been undertaken near our existing main," Goodney said. "So there's really no avenue for us to have caused any discoloration from this project."

Goodney adds that the portion of the project that would involve cutting the new piping into the water system won't take place for a few months.

Treatment instituted over the weekend brought down the high manganese levels that Water Authority officials say was making customers' water brown. The levels last week were 0.11; more than twice the accepted level of 0.05.

Levels on Tuesday were 0.03.

Water testing was to take place around noon Wednesday, with the latest numbers available later in the afternoon.

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