Water Safety Tips

Stay Safe - Call Before You Dig: Safe digging is everyone’s responsibility. It’s a free service to notify SC811 of your planned excavation to help prevent damages that may result in fines, utility service interruption and injury – even death. Please see SC811.com for more information.

Safety During Boil Water Advisory or Notice

During the operation of a public water system, water lines may break or be accidentally hit by other construction activities. When this happens, it may become necessary for the utility to issue a Boil Water Advisory or Notice.  This may be the result of a loss of pressure in the entire or a significant portion of the distribution system, or it may be from a line break where dirt or debris have entered the distribution piping.  An Advisory is issued when a part of the system may be contaminated and a Notice is issued when a part of the system is.  Should it become necessary to issue a Boil Water Advisory or Notice, there are several means by which the advisory or notice may be distributed.  If the affected area of the water system is relatively small, a written advisory/notice may be hand delivered to the door of each residence.  For large scale events, the Advisory or Notice will be given to local media for announcement, posted on the CPW website, and posted on social media.

If issued a Boil Water Advisory or Notice, you will be advised to vigorously boil water for a least one (1) full minute prior to consuming any water (drinking or cooking) until otherwise notified by Greenwood CPW.  Also, any ice made from water which has not been boiled should not be used for drinking purposes.  Once test results confirm the absence of contaminants in the distribution line(s) and it is safe to remove the Advisory or Notice, Greenwood CPW will issue a Repeal and customers may resume normal use.

Safety During Hydrant Testing and Water Main Flushing

During the course of the year, it is likely that you will see CPW personnel testing and flushing fire hydrants. While it may appear as a waste of water, it is actually a very necessary step in the proper operation and maintenance of a water system.  These measures: verify the proper operation of hydrants, evaluate the available flow to hydrants, and allows CPW to flush lines to provide the highest quality water possible to customers.   The change in flow patterns and velocity due to operating hydrants may cause some discoloration of water.  Water mains continue to be properly disinfected throughout this process.  If your water does become discolored, turn on an outside faucet to clear the water line and run internal taps and fixtures a few minutes until the water clears before doing any laundry or cleaning.  If water does not clear after a few minutes of running, please call CPW customer service to report the condition.  Our Operators will continue to work throughout this process to keep water as clear as possible through proper flushing and we will try to minimize the impacts to our customers.  Thank you for understanding as we perform this necessary process to keep the water system reliable and in good working order.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but flushing is an important part of water system maintenance.  Please observe the following safety tips around the areas of flushing:

• • Slow down. Please do not speed around flushing zones endangering yourself or workers.
  • Observe the direction of utility workers. If traffic control or direction is required, utility workers will guide the traveling public.
  • Slowly drive through flush water or go around (once the way is clear) if it has entered the traffic lane.
  • Greenwood CPW workers are easily identifiable in CPW vehicles and uniforms. Please notify CPW immediately by calling (864)942-8100 if you observe anyone other than CPW or Fire Departments operating hydrants.