City of Rye and Veolia Address Water Pressure Issues
On the evening of Wednesday, July 10, the City of Rye put out a press release to address water pressure issues that Rye residents had been experiencing for the past week. The press release announced that the abnormal water pressure resulted from faulty valve settings associated with recent main replacements. Veolia Water has recently begun resetting those aspects and monitoring specific locations, and representatives report that “‘normal’ pressure is now being restored.”
Bill Madden, a Communications Executive representing Veolia, explained, “The increased demand due to the heat wave has taxed our system, especially in the morning hours when residential sprinkler systems are working. Water pressure to our Rye customers still far exceeds the minimum standards. This was an isolated issue last week that has been resolved.”
Rye City Manager Greg Ursy confirmed that the City of Rye and Veolia began receiving complaints about water pressure last week, especially around Rye Gardens, Oakland Beach, and The Osborne. “The [valve settings] control pressure in the various zones, based upon dynamic demand,” he said. “It is not unusual to have some pressure reduction during the summer, but this was more significant.”
Separately, Ursy also noted that Rye is working with Veolia on scheduling the resurfacing of the Rye Gardens neighborhood this summer, at Veolia’s expense. The patching currently in place is temporary, and Veolia will be restoring the roads, per the City Code.
The City has promised to continue to work with Veolia to “ensure the best service possible” and encourages Rye residents to contact Veolia’s customer service office at (877) 426-8969 or [email protected] with any further issues or pressure problems.
