Two weeks ago, the students of Concord University were suddenly told not to drink the water on campus or do laundry in it until a sediment had cleared through it. This sediment resulted in water around the Campus Beautiful to take on a brown, murky color. Many concerned students wondered why this was happening, and it turned out to be the city of Athens flushing the water system for an unknown reason.
Some of the bigger questions surrounding this were why there was no warning days in advance and what could have been so important. Rick Dillon, the Associate Dean of Students and Vice President of Administration, stated that the university itself was caught off guard by the sudden flushing of the water system
“Failure to notify us in a timely manner was an oversight by the town," he said.
Despite this oversight, Dillon stated the town and Concord have a very good working relationship, emphasizing that “the Town of Athens maintenance staff, police and firemen are very competent. Mostly for this reason, the Concord maintenance department and public safety office have, over the years, established an excellent relationship with our counterparts from the town, and we are very supportive of one another.”
When the town was contacted, a representative stated the reason for flushing the hydrant was just usual maintenance. The hydrants need to be routinely flushed to make sure they can always be used in the event of a fire. Not only was Concord’s campus effected, but also all of Athens. The Athens Volunteer Fire Department was unavailable for comment, but Dillon reiterated that the department does not work for the town. Dillon also theorized that even though students are gone for the summer, which would at first glance make for the perfect opportunity conduct routine waterline maintenance, students may not be the only factor that goes into the decision of when to flush the hydrants,
“The Town of Athens probably grows non-student population during the summer months. Summer weather in Athens is very pleasant, so if you are an Athens resident wintering down south during the cold months, you would return home in May,” Dillon hypothesized.
Despite the lack of notification, it would appear that there was nothing wrong with the water and the flush was routine, and that students were not in any danger from the water, but due to the uproar and suddenness of the flushing, a warning may be much more warranted from here on out.