Hydrant testing could discolor water

The city of Woodstock said the fire department will begin required testing of fire hydrants today, which may cause “temporary discoloration in the water.”

The discolored water will not harm people, the city assured, “although it may stain light colored clothing.”

The funky color comes from sediment in waterlines being stirred up during hydrant testing, which will run through June 10.

The fire department will flow each hydrant until water is clear, “however smaller water lines that lead to each house may still have cloudy water.”

If that’s the case, run water from the tap until it is clear.

This is all part of the city’s Insurance Service Office rating, which evaluates a city’s readiness to respond to a fire. Woodstock said it currently has the top rating.

In Fulton County, Alpharetta and its depart- ment of public safety will be inspecting all of the fire hydrants in the city in April and May.

But the firefighters could use a little bit of help before inspecting these fire hydrants.

The city asks that if your community does any land- scaping around any fire hydrant, please be sure to leave buffer area of about three feet around the hydrant to avoid damage to your shrubbery.

According to the city, each home in Alpharetta is within 500 feet of at least one fire hydrant, in most cases. Each home is typically less than three miles away from the nearest fire department too, the city says.