Hydrant Flushing

Flushing hydrants and water mains provides several benefits to our water system users. Regular flushing helps deliver the highest water quality to our customers, ensures fire hydrants are ready for emergency use, and allows crews to confirm the system is operating properly while identifying areas that need maintenance or repair.

In 2025, the City of Battle Creek completed two rounds of citywide hydrant flushing—one in May and another in August. While hydrant flushing is typically performed once a year, the second round was a proactive measure to help reduce levels of total trihalomethanes (TTHM) in the water system. This effort supports the City’s ongoing work to replace the aging well system at the Verona Well Field.

In addition to these annual and citywide flushes, the city now performs targeted hydrant flushing daily in strategic sections of the system. This is not a system-wide flush, but rather focused on areas where water demand may be lower or where water movement needs to be improved. These daily flushes help maintain water quality and reduce conditions that contribute to TTHM formation.

Hydrant flushingAbout the flushing process

The flushing process often results in cloudy or discolored water; please be mindful of this while doing laundry or other tasks that could be affected. We do what we can to limit this, and the water always is safe during the process. 

Discolored or rusty water may be present in the area where crews are flushing, as well as in neighboring areas. If you see discolored water from your taps, we recommend that you run the cold water in your home or business.

You might see water pressure changes while we flush, but those should be brief. We do not shut off water during this process, and boil water advisories are not necessary. If you do lose water pressure for a long period, or completely, check your aerators first. 


General Hydrant Flushing Information

  1. Hydrant Flushing District Map - 2025
  1. Cold Water Flush Instructions

Follow the flow: our city-wide flushing schedule and sequence

You can generally expect to see our crews move through the city in this order for the city-wide flushes:

  • Phase 1 – East-central part of the city, from Roosevelt Avenue south to Michigan Avenue, and Division/Fremont streets east to the neighborhoods east of Raymond Road, to about McAllister Road. (gray-blue section of the hydrant flushing map linked above with yellow Phase 1 labels)
  • Phase 2 – Central Business District/downtown, west of Phase 1 to Limit Street, then north to Morgan Road, and south to Columbia Avenue. (gray-blue section on the map with green Phase 2 labels)
  • Phase 3 – Urbandale, west of Phase 2 almost to Collier Avenue, and from Harmonia Road/City of Springfield to just north of Morgan Road (gray-blue section on the map with orange Phase 3 labels; City of Springfield is not part of our hydrant flushing)
  • Phase 4 – Fort Custer Industrial Park area northwest of Springfield, south along Hill Brady Road and Skyline Drive, from the south border of Springfield to around Columbia Avenue, and southwest to I-94, plus the Numbered Streets area. (rust section on the map with blue Phase 4 labels)
  • Phase 5 – South of Columbia Avenue to Beckley Road, and further south around Capital Avenue SW and M-66, east to and north/south on Beadle Lake Road (rust section on the map with white Phase 5 labels)
  • Phase 6 – Gethings, Beadle Lake, and Emmett areas – a square area around Gethings and Stone Jug roads, streets between Columbia and Golden avenues east of M-66, and south on Beadle Lake Road past I-94; east on Michigan Avenue from Pine Knoll to around Ackerson (east of 11 Mile). (green, purple, and yellow sections on the map with gray Phase 6 labels)