Pearl St too. Water Authority not answering.

can someone post a picture?

My landlord just got in touch with the Water Authority -- they say it is safe to drink (though I wouldn't) -- that because of the heat and high demand, sediment in the bottom of the tanks was disturbed and it should be resolved in a couple of hours.

Hey guys pleaseet people know that the water is safe to drink. This is from RWA via the owner of L'orcio who spoke w them thus afternoon.

Willow at Livingston also.

trumbull street too! it would be so nice for the water company to inform residents...

Same here, Orange St & Willow

East Rock and Whitney.

Called the water company an hour ago. They said they were asking people to not run water for 2 hours - starting at 6:00 PM, but as far as the customer service person knew, no formal notice had gone out. They were just telling people who called in. Now almost 8:00 PM and our water (Pearl Street) is worse than an hour ago.

I took two photos - you can tell it's sediment when you pour it out.
http://twitpic.com/231zky

Im on Chapel near St. Rapheals's and my water is brown also.

We have brown water at Foster and Willow Streets. I wish RWA had a news alert section on their web site with information. I hate waiting a long time on the phone and they could reach a lot of people with a simple web notice about problems like this.

Avon St, 8:15 PM, still brownish.

Temple St. also suffering from the brown water syndrome. And even though apparently the water company says it is safe to drink, I wouldn't do it.

Same problem in Hamden, just on the other side of East Rock.

RWA told me a few minutes ago that high usage "overwhelmed the filtration plant" and that it would be alright in a few hours. Glad to see I'm not the only one who went to their site expecting some kind of info. RWA pls join the 21st cent.

To the RWA: you need a crisis plan to notify all your customers about issues like these: website & phone notices. This (lack of) response is too slow. Welcome to the 21st century. [edwards st. brown water]

We noticed the black sediment last night (water was still clear at that point). Called water Co this morning and was told it would go away during the day. And now it's much worse. Same black sediment, but now brown water.

Also happening throughout Wooster square!

This is happening in Wooster Square too.

It started yesterday. There was black sediment in the toilet. Now I have brown water from all the taps and in the toilet. On cottage and livingston st's. I'm more concerned with showering and doing the dishes in it. Definitely will not drink it.

"High Volume" I was told by the water company is from people opening the fire hydrants to keep cool. Please don't open hydrants, and call the police if you see it. Otherwise, we will all keep having undrinkable water. Safe? I wouldn't drink it.

Dirty on Prospect Street near Edwards. Just noticed this evening! PLEASE water company, have a way of notifying residents!

well it's not only people opening fire hydrants. My neighbor on Nash St filled up two medium size inflatable pools for her kids and I'm sure that was at least 100 gallons used and now the two pools sit empty and dry on the fence with 100 gallons of treated water down the storm sewer and undrinkable water coming out of our faucets where drinkable water should be

Still brown downtown on chapel st.

Still brown downtown on chapel st.

brown - canner and orange st.
Started last night.
Got very much worse this afternoon.
Interesting that news agencies have zero info on this...

Water looks and tastes fine in Dixwell right now. Maybe this is improving now that water usage is back to normal? Any other reports?

Still brown on Lawrence and Whitney.

East & State - so much sediment!

Eagle and Foster, brown water.

still sediment in the water here on Mather St in Hamden

Quinnipiac Avenue all brown water. Safe to drink, I would not bet on that. Who is going to drink a big glass of brown water with floating sludge and silt. Give me a break.

Clifford St b/w Putnam and Treadwell (Hamden), brown water

still brown on Howard Ave

brown on howe. started around 430 this afternoon. my landlord said he's working on it... but no clue when the clean water comes back. is his brown water safe to drink if you use filters like PUR etc?

Dwight too.

Just spoke with the RWA and they say that the problem cannot be fixed, that it's due to high usage of the water but that it's safe to drink, bathe in, etc. Looks pretty unsafe to me. Hard to believe that this is not the RWA's problem but rather, as they just told me, "the city's problem". They also have no estimate as to when the water will clear. I've lived in New Haven for 30 years. It's been very hot before for days but I don't recall having this issue occur before.

Brown here on Orange St. as well, though the filtered tap water from the Fridge seems OK.

Water is still brown with sediment evident in central Fair Haven.

Hi everyone, I am a microbiologist (not an expert of drinking water unfortunately). However I looked up how water is treated using the process that produces sedimentation and the reason why the water company says it is safe to drink is because the water is still chlorinated. The water, in respect to bacteria is safe to drink. The draw back is the particulates, they are used for the initial filtration of the other major particles.

I am not drinking the water because I do not like the taste of sterile sand water. I would only use it to take a shower if it is absolutely necessary, I will not wash dishes or drink it.

Hope it helps!

Ohh one more thing, the showers should be fine if your building filters the water before it enters the water heater (common in California, not sure about New Haven). Also the Pur water filter should work great.

FYI My fiancee just took a shower and she did not die!!!

Water is still brown Bishop and Orange

Fine dark sediment in sink and brown water out of tap also in Spring Glen area of Hamden. Water co. rep. says media announcement just sent out (?) Supposedly = mineral content of water (are we iron-rich here?) settled at bottom of holding tanks ... not an appetizing image on a sultry evening. Out to buy some Fiji!

In reference to the above: A large number of municipal and water authority websites have explanations, and suggested solutions, similar to the one below. Is this the city's responsibility?

--

Rusty brown water is caused by several factors. Almost all water pipes have a thin film of rust and harmless sediment on the inside of them. Although this film causes no problems, over time it can build up to the point that a slight increase in water velocity can cause it to break loose from the interior pipe wall. This material causes your water to appear discolored or dirty. Normally discolored water is the result of high water demands throughout the distribution system. Higher-than-normal water demands (which is what happens when a water main is broken or a fire hydrant is opened too quickly) increase the velocity of the water to a rate of flow that causes harmless material in the pipeline, such as rust and sediment, to break free.

Potential solution: The Public Works Department performs flushing of the water mains in your area to remove sediment.

http://www.suwanee.com/aboutsuwanee.qa.php

Just posted a story on NHI w/ a little info from RWA.

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/dirty_water_alert/

Same problem @Winthrop and Goffe

Hamden/Spring Glen too

Westville has brown water too.

Melissa, we linked to your post on the SeeClickFix blog just now. Great job reporting on this issue! Hope your water clears up quickly.

Our water is dark brown on Avon St. Thanks everyone for posting -- at least we know we are not alone.

Still funny rust-brown on East Rock Rd. Noticed it after work today.

Please fix

i'm on ridge rd in hamden and noticed brownish water at 6pm while bathing the kids. even more so at 11:10pm.

I used paper towels to make a filter, then I got some clean water for bath.

Still brown on Orange and Canner

All my white laundry is now not so white. I wish i realized it before I decided to wash my clothes. My work uniform includes all white shirts.... don't know what i'm gonna do.

Mather/Wood St in Hamden - lots of sediment in sinks & toilets - I wouldn't recommend doing laundry, I'm going to have to re-wash a few things...

From the New Haven Independent: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/dirty_water_alert/

Sure am glad we have Poland Springs delivery!

Humphrey Street reporting in here. Yep, we've got it too. Tenants not happy.

dirty water on Willow too.

Brown water on Lynwood Place, starting on 7/5, getting steadily grosser-looking. I've lived in New Haven for a number of years with equally hot summers and this has never happened before.

This is happening on Winnett St. in Hamden too. Kinda gross, probably gonna have to take a shower in it tomorrow too. So excited!

Brown water hits Westville! Hoping for a more definitive statement from the water authority than the one posted on NH Independent. Is it totally safe to drink or not?

I ran my water for 10 minutes just now and still dirty. Could it be they started to use Lake Whitney?

Still brown in Wooster Square.

Whitney & East Rock: finally seems clear, with very little sediment

State & East: still have sediment, but seems better than last night

Canner & Orange; not perfect but seems clearer.

Water is brown in Westville. Too bad the Water Authority doesn't post information!

Would have been nice to know about this before we did laundry! Had to rewash our whites! Seems to be less bad when using cold water.

Bradley & State.

Access to safe, clean drinking water is a significant problem through many areas of the world. Thank you RWA for helping us better empathize with those in countries less well off than America. With fuel prices high and concerns over global warming, responsible citizens are cutting back on travel. Kudos to the RWA for bringing the third world to us in our own homes. Bottoms up!

Canner & Orange: now it seems to run clear. Maybe not so under a microscope but night and day compared to yesterday afternoon.

Downtown chapel street: still a little discolored, but better than last night.

MEDIA ADVISORY re: DISCOLORED WATER

The South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority has been receiving questions from consumers about discolored water coming from their taps. The very warm weather last weekend and continuing this week has driven up demand for water. The higher flows of water through the water mains have stirred up sediments similar to fire hydrant flushings. With the hot weather likely continuing, causing high water demand, consumers may continue to experience discolored water. Running water in an attempt to flush your home system will not clear the discoloration of the water.

Consumers can help us by limiting your outside irrigation to the early morning hours. Additionally, due to widespread illegal hydrant openings contributing to the high flows of water, please call your local fire department if you see an open hydrant.

While unappealing, the water is not harmful. It is a personal choice whether or not to use the discolored water for showering, flushing toilets, cleaning floors, etc. To drink lightly discolored water, fill a container, put it in your refrigerator to cool and let the color settle to the bottom. When ready to drink, use the clear water from the top of the container. You should use caution if you wash clothes, especially light colored ones, in your washing machine. Check the condition to your water to prevent staining.

If consumers have other questions, they may call 203-562-4020.

I know this is not a "Katrina" situation...YET. But it does show moral if not criminal negligence on the authorities of this city and state. No one has said they have TESTED the water for safe use. It's filthy water. The authoritys say it's a personal choice to drink it , we can BUY clean water.
NOT if your poor. I am poor and disabled. I went out this morning and bought the last 4 gallons of water left at walgreens on Walley...at 8:30 this morning.
Now they say on the news that we may not have drinkable water for DAYS.
Why do I have the feeling that if the people of, oh lets say, Grenwich had no clean water-the govenor would have water tankers parked next to every Starbucks?
sorry for the bad spelling. IF it goes on for days, what will I do?
so, yes I am scared and angry.

OK I got some more info from RWA.

They said the water's OK to drink -- let the sediment settle first. RWA hasn't seen this much brown water in 15 years.

Updated story:
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/dirty_water_alert/

Looking better here at State & Bishop.

I have a marine fish tank and so own a dissolved solids meter so I can test for contaminates in the tap water and then test after the water is filtered through a reverse osmosis/DE-ionize filter.
Last night, the meter read 78 parts per million of dissolved solids in the tap water. Today, it is reading 50 parts per million. Normal for our water is 45-48 PPM.

Better on prospect hill today as well. Lets all take this as a precaution and use common sense when using water, do not just run it to run it. Shut off the faucet when washing dishes, brushing teeth, cut back on watering your lawn etc.

I am in westville. it is wednesday evening and the water in all of our faucets and hoses appears to be clear unitl you fill a tub or a pool and then you see a black sediment on the bottom. not good. concerned becasue we have been drinking this all day. it is not noticeable in a glass, only in larger quantities.

The water is not brown any more.