Chlorination ends, flushing begins

Chlorination of Brainerd's water was completed Tuesday.

Now Brainerd residents can expect to see fire hydrants spraying water as Brainerd Public Utilities crews flush the chlorine out of the city's water delivery system.

Brainerd chlorinated its water supply in order to disinfect against total coliform bacteria detected Aug. 21 in the water system near a south Brainerd construction site.

Tom Phelps, utilities superintendent, said now that the last of the chlorine has spread throughout the system, the city will aggressively start flushing the system on Wednesday.

The goal, he said, is to be done flushing on Monday.

"This week we're really going to hit it," Phelps said. Darwin Cole, Brainerd Public Utilities water supervisor, said people should start noticing the change in water smell and taste quickly.

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Health will be testing the water supply to determine if the bacteria was removed. The test takes 24 hours to complete and Phelps expects to know test results by Sept. 24.