Missouri American Water Recommends Large Building Operators and Schools to Flush Pipes to Maintain Water Quality

JOPLIN, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Missouri American Water remains committed to keeping our customers informed as we continue to deliver, clean, safe and reliable water and wastewater services to you during the COVID-19 public health emergency. As buildings reopen, businesses, school districts and property management teams will begin the process of restarting building systems that have been dormant for a significant amount of time, including making sure that water systems and equipment are in working order.

Missouri American Water encourages large building owners and operators to adopt a proactive approach that includes proper flushing procedures, assuring the presence of disinfectant residuals, adjustment of hot water temperature, and proper maintenance of building plumbing and heating/cooling systems. Proper flushing of plumbing before reoccupying these buildings is essential and should be performed biweekly if possible and again the weekend before opening.

Consistent with EPA and industry guidance, Missouri American Water recommends the flushing of pipes to maintain water quality, including:

• Toilets: At least twice (this will help to move fresh water through the plumbing)
• Faucets: Run at full flow for at least 2 minutes
• Showers: Run at full flow for at least 2 minutes
• Other Appliances/Apparatus: We recommend flushing other appliances and apparatus thoroughly, at full flow, bringing fresh water into the system. Preferably run the water until you are able to smell the chlorine in the water. If you have an appliance such as a refrigerator or ice maker that has a filter, upon completion of flushing, follow manufacturer’s instructions for replacing water filters.

For additional information on flushing you can go to American Water’s fact sheet; the Environmental Protection Agency’s Flushing Best Practices; the Center for Disease Control web page; or the American Water Works Association.

Missouri American Water
Missouri American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.5 million people.

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,100 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to more than 14 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.