Water main flushing
Have you ever seen water flowing from a fire hydrant, but not a fire in sight? You were probably watching a water main being cleaned using a flushing process. Water main flushing is widely used by municipalities to effectively clean pipes, water mains and water distribution systems to deliver safe drinking water to customers.
When water main flushing typically occurs
Water main flushing can be planned as part of regular system maintenance, or when we drain or commission existing water mains. It can also be unplanned, such as after water main breaks, infrastructure damage or infrastructure failure.
For planned work, EPCOR crews typically work during the day from January through March. They try to avoid working around dinner during the peak flushing period. To learn what we are doing and how long we will be in your neighbourhood, check the water main flushing schedule posted in customer notices.
How to know if water main flushing is occurring in your neighbourhood
- If you see an EPCOR vehicle and/or water flowing from a hydrant
- You may experience temporary low water pressure or cloudy water while we are flushing fire hydrants near you
If you experience sudden low water pressure that isn't due to water main flushing, you can follow our guide to troubleshoot for low water pressure in your home.
Important: Don't use any type of liquid lawn products that attach directly to your hose when your area is receiving UDF service. Due to the water pressure change, anything attached to your hose could be sucked into it and will end up in your water main, potentially contaminating your and your neighbours' water supply. You can learn more about this hazard on our preventing backflow page.
What to know when we are flushing in your neighbourhood
- You may have temporarily cloudy water or low water pressure while fire hydrants near you are being flushed
- Your water won't be turned off, and you'll continue to receive uninterrupted water service to your home
- Water main flushing can take anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes per fire hydrant to complete, with an average of approximately 25 minutes per hydrant. You may experience temporary low water pressure or cloudy water during this time
- Water main servicing doesn't affect your water bill. You're only charged for water that passes through your meter, and flushed water is emptied out of the distribution system well before then
Water main flushing using UDF
Unidirectional flushing (UDF) is the water main cleaning method EPCOR uses for our flushing of water mains procedure. UDF simply means guiding water in a single direction through the pipes by systematically closing valves and releasing the water through fire hydrants.