Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is reassuring its customers that its tap water, despite a distinct brown hue, is safe to drink, though officials are apologizing and recognizing that the discoloration is “unacceptable.”
Reports of brown water have been around for days in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. WSSC CEO Carla Reid herself said she would have reservations about drinking the water.
“I don’t blame our customers for not wanting to drink it,” Reid said at a press conference Monday. “It is absolutely unacceptable.”
Still, she and other WSSC officials maintained the water is safe to drink, bathe in, cook with, and otherwise use. The culprit, they said, falls to Mother Nature. The rainy summer has meant an increase in organic material – decayed leaves, tree debris, and vegetation – in the Potomac River, the main source for WSSC’s water.
“If the rain would stop coming, it would be a big help,” Production Director J.C. Langley said. “The aesthetic issue of manganese will be around probably for the next several weeks, until river conditions change.”
With the increase in organic material, the amount of chlorine used to treat the water must be reduced, Langley said, or else they run the risk of an increase in “disinfectant byproducts,” which do carry health hazards. Less chlorine means more manganese. When there is less organic material in the river, the chlorine level will be adjusted accordingly, Langley said.
“We have to wait for Mother nature to calm down.”
However, WSSC advises customers not to do laundry in the water as it can stain clothes. They recommend using a rust remover to get out any manganese stains.
See the full WSSC Press Conference here:
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