Dirty Water? Call the City and Report it

Kent residents and business owners who see discoloration in their water during the next three days should to report it.

The city is testing the water system to try and isolate a main water line that runs on the underside of the Crain Avenue Bridge in preparation for the bridge's demolition.

Kent Service Director Gene Roberts said there should be no service disruption, but residents and businesses may see some discoloration as the system is tested.

Roberts said they're testing to make sure there is enough flow in the rest of the system to provide enough service while the pipe underneath the old bridge is out of service, which could be three or four months.

"We’re doing this test to make sure we’re not going to have any issues with the system," Roberts said. “We want to make sure we’re not going to have any prolonged problems. What we want to verify before we carte balanch tear the pipe out ... is that we have plenty of flow."

The pipe is connected to the city's water tower on Fairchild Avenue and provides service to the Crain Avenue neighborhood and parts of . It will be replaced with a new pipe as part of the , which includes replacing the Crain Avenue Bridge with a new pedestrian bridge that serves to carry other utility lines across the Cuyahoga River.

Any discoloration will clear up. The testing started this morning and is expected to continue through Friday. To report discoloration, call 330-678-8105.

Roberts said they're still in talks with the bridge contractor to determine when the line will be taken out of service.

"The important thing to know is it will stabilize," he said.