620 Beach Brown Water Issue1
Smith, Jamie D
From:Stephens, Troy
Sent:Monday, August 21, 2023 10:17 AM
To:mary s
Cc:Williams, Scott; Martin, Derek; Smith, Jamie D; Walker, Chris
Subject:RE: brown water- residential service ATL BCH - Sunday morning
Mary S. our crew investigated your concern with the brown water. We removed your water meter and installed a
temporary stand pipe and flushed and found the water to be clear and without any brown color. We also flushed the
hydrant at the corner and again found no brown water. Again , I believe this to be an internal issue with your plumbing.
If I can be of any other service to you , please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Our crew observed pvc pipe on both
sides of the meter thus eliminating galvanized pipe being the issue.
From: mary s [mailto:mary.sentimore@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, August 21, 2023 8:33 AM
To: Stephens, Troy <tstephens@coab.us>
Cc: Williams, Scott <swilliams@coab.us>; Martin, Derek <dmartin@coab.us>; Smith, Jamie D <jdsmith@coab.us>
Subject: Re: brown water‐ residential service ATL BCH ‐ Sunday morning
Mr. Stephens,
I am writing to let you know that this morning, Monday August 21st, and Sunday August 20th, we woke up to
brown water. You may recall that one week ago, August 13th, we reported waking up to brown water.
We have been informed, by a water filtration company, that our softening system is not the problem. Further,
we learned that the water from our outdoor hose bibs (exterior faucet) does not pass through the softening
system.
This morning, dark brown water is being observed flowing from an outdoor hose bib (exterior faucet) in
addition to all of our indoor water supplies. For clarification, the hose bibs do not pass through the softening
system. The water from sinks and toilets in our home is brown.
I am asking that you please look into any activities that may be impacting our residential water supply, and to
please advise as to the possible causes. I am concerned that the brown water may be harmful. I am
including an image of the sample that I collected today.
You and your office can not possibly believe that this is acceptable.
Please note:
Our home was built in 2008 (not old);
Most of the homes around me are vacant;
Occupied homes may be using whole house filters (might not notice brown water);
Two homes in close proximity, to my home, are under construction;
7 days apart - brown water in the morning;
A fire hydrant is located at the corner of our property; and
I have collected a sample.
Thank you for your time and hopefully your help.
Mary Sentimore
On Tue, Aug 15, 2023 at 12:51 PM Stephens, Troy <tstephens@coab.us> wrote:
2
Mary , I’m sorry you experienced water quality issues over the weekend. But this had nothing to do with the issues that
Neptune Beach experienced on Friday night. Our systems are connected but are valved off from each other. We did not
have a water main break in your area that would have caused us to operate valves that may have caused this issue. We
have not received any other similar complaints in our water system. Unfortunately this sounds like an isolated water
quality issue that I don’t have a reason for. If you have any other questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to notify
me.
Troy Stephens
Public Utilities Director
City of Atlantic Beach
902 Assisi Lane
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233
O 904‐247‐5875
C 904‐588‐4503
From: mary s [mailto:mary.sentimore@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2023 9:25 AM
To: Williams, Scott <swilliams@coab.us>; Martin, Derek <dmartin@coab.us>; Stephens, Troy <tstephens@coab.us>
Subject: brown water‐ residential service ATL BCH ‐ Sunday morning
Good morning.
I live at 620 BEACH AVE, ATL BCH.
I am writing to inquire as to the cause of dark brown water dispensing from all faucets and toilets over the
weekend. I noticed the problem early Sunday morning. I called the ATL BCH water service number (904-
247-5816) and I was told that no repairs had been completed. Further, I was told that no other household had
reported brown water.
3
I was looking through my Ring doorbell app last night, and I came across more than a dozen reports of a water
outage in Neptune Beach Saturday afternoon/evening. All of the addresses are within 1 mile of my home.
Can you tell me if Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach share the same water pipe infrastructure?
Can you tell me if my brown water could be related to a water outage and broken main in Neptune Beach?
If there is a water pipe failure, do you have a notification system for residence? I moved to ATL BCH during
March. I am wondering if I should have signed up for an alert system.
I am hoping to avoid spending money on changing out my water softening equipment if the brown water could
have been caused by repairs to a pipe near my home.
I thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing back.
Mary Sentimore 703-577-1634
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