Residents of Grunthal are being warned that there might be a slight discolouration in the water on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. That is because now that spring is here, the Rural Municipality of Hanover will be doing its monthly maintenance of its water main systems, which means flushing the lines.

Engineering Manager Rob Driedger says they flush the lines in order to get rid of the iron buildup, especially what has built up over winter. He notes because of the hardness of the water in Grunthal, they get a small accumulation of iron inside the pipes. The flushing gets rid of the iron in order to prevent future problems.

Crews are expected to be flushing from 9 am to 4 pm on Wednesday and then completing the work on Thursday. Driedger notes this is the same schedule they have been following for about the last 12 to 15 years and so residents can mark their calendars for this cycle to continue in 2017 on the third Wednesday and Thursday of each month.

Driedger says some residents might notice a slight discolouration in their water this week. For those residents, he suggests running their taps for a few minutes to clear it up. Even if you don't run your taps, Driedger says the water is still perfectly safe to drink. That is because there is still chlorine within the system to disinfect the water.

Meanwhile, he says in all the years of their monthly flushing, nobody has ever told them that their laundry was damaged by the discoloured water.

"Not to say that it's not possible, but it would be almost a perfect timed event to get a little bit of iron into their system," suggests Driedger. "Maybe if they were doing a set of whites or something like that, there could be a slight discolouration."

Furthermore, he says the monthly flushing will not damage hot water tanks.

Anyone with questions should contact the RM Office at 204-346-7129. Residents are encouraged to regularly check the RM of Hanover website, Facebook or the community information boards where regular reminders are posted.