JOHNSTOWN, Colo — For the past four days within the town of Johnstown, workers have been flushing out more than discolored water. They hope to flush out concerns.
"I'm skeptical obviously," Joaquin Guillen, resident, said. "I wouldn't recommend drinking it myself or my friends or my family."
Town Manager Matt LeCerf said the water has been deemed safe by the state the whole time, but he does understand that the brown appearance can be appalling.
"We have certainly fallen short of meeting the expectations of our community and also we've fallen short of our own expectations," LeCerf said.
LeCerf says the problem started when the town switched water sources from Johnstown Lake to the Lone Tree reservoir.
"Evidently, what it appears what has happened is we probably didn't flush out the line out enough," LeCerf said.
He said that allowed discolored water to get into the system.
"I think the only thing we can maybe hypothesize is that it's possible organic elements," LeCerf said.
Workers are going to different areas of Johnstown to flush the hydrants and clear out the water lines.
"They are being reactive, I guess, to the issue which is good, good to see," Guillen said.
So far, the town has flushed out about three million gallons of discolored water which cost Johnstown about $10,000. LeCerf hopes everything is fixed within the next two days.
"I want it resolved," LeCerf said. "We're going to work until it is resolved."
LeCerf hopes that while concerns are flushed out, faith in the town is restored.
"We all make mistakes obviously," Guillen said. "We don't want to see those mistakes especially with something like water that is something that we just take for granted."
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