Claremont — The city’s water department hopes that cleaning a 4,000-foot section of the pipe that delivers city water from the main reservoir will increase the flow and reduce the amount that is pumped from the Sugar River.

The 17,000-foot pipe has not been cleaned in 50 years and the buildup inside has restricted the flow from the 140 million gallon Whitewater Reservoir to Dole Reservoir, where it enters the water treatment plant on Winter Street.

Public Works Director Scott Sweet said they have identified a 4,000-foot “low section” of the pipe, and can flush out the sediment and buildup at a cost of $20,000.

“We will see how much that increases the volume and will have a better idea of how much more of the pipe we need to clean,” Sweet said. “We have high hopes.”

Sweet said the buildup is thought to be soft enough that high-powered flushing will remove it.

Presently, about 70 percent of the city’s water supply comes from Whitewater and the rest pumped from the Sugar River.

The goal is to increase the flow from Whitewater to 100 percent of the city’s daily needs and eliminate pumping from the Sugar River, Water Department Supervisor Vic St. Pierre told the City Council this week.