By Carlie Baker
Published: Aug. 14, 2024 at 8:28 PM EDT|Updated: Aug. 15, 2024 at 4:27 AM EDT
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - For the last few days, some people in the Lowcountry have noticed that the running water in their homes has had a slightly yellow or brown color to it.
The Public Information Administrator for Charleston Water System, Mike Saia, says this is in direct correlation to Tropical Storm Debby.
“That storm flushed out a lot of the swamps and a lot of the natural, organic material that is out there in the forest and areas around the reservoir and the Edisto River and it’s brought all that material into our drinking water sources,” Saia says.
Officials say people are seeing elevated levels of iron and manganese in the water. Saia says this is a natural compound and that it won’t harm anyone, but that it doesn’t look appetizing to people in a glass when it is slightly yellow.
Saia says the Charleston Water System is working continuously to fix the situation. He says they have seen a difference in the color of the water since changing their water source. They have moved their raw water to the Edisto River, and they are trying to abandon the Bushy Park Reservoir as they are finding it much more effective to treat the Edisto River.
The Charleston Water System also uses alum, which can be found in the spice aisle at grocery stores, to treat the drinking water. Saia says they are using the maximum amount that they can use and it is helping reduce the discoloration to a degree.
“The good news is from yesterday to today we found about a fifty percent reduction in the color,” he says.
Saia says they are doing everything that they can within their current infrastructure. He says in the future they will possibly use a different powder-activated carbon in their treatment process that will hopefully be better at reducing the color of the water.
“It’s absolutely critical that our customers understand that our water is one hundred percent safe, it’s been safe, and it will remain safe no matter what the color of the water is throughout the duration of this event because these minor levels of iron and manganese are very very, very low,” Saia says.
One Hanahan resident, Gina Larkin, says her first reaction to her water being discolored was “not again.” She says the same situation has happened three summers in a row now.
Larkin says she was washing one of her blankets and some of her white towels and when she pulled them out, they had brown spots on them.
“This year they told me it was because of Tropical Storm Debby. Last year when I called, I was told it was from switching water reservoirs. The year before that I was told it was from a leak in a pipe, or an alga got into the pipe system, but I lost loads of laundry those two years as well,” Larkin says.
She says that when she called Charleston Water System, and they told her the water was safe to drink she didn’t believe them.
“I said ‘I don’t believe that.’ I mean I can’t drink discolored water, so I had to go out and buy a bunch of bottled waters to cook with, to drink,” she says. “I said ‘Well how would you like me to bring you a cup of water that is all discolored and have you drink it on camera for me?’”
One North Charleston resident, Nicole Gourdine, says she first noticed the discolored water in the toilet, and when she ran the water to take a bath.
“What I am seeing now, this is nothing that I want to bathe in, drink, cook. I don’t want to do anything in that right now because I’m looking at it and no. That’s not safe,” Gourdine says. “My daughter has a newborn and I don’t want my grandson to have to consume this so immediately when I saw it I had to call her and say I hope you’re using filtered water with that baby.”
Gourdine says she’s never been this proactive when it pertains to water.
“When you see this, you’re going to want to focus,” Gourdine says.
She says even though Charleston Water System is saying the water is safe to drink, she will be buying bottled water.
“That is so costly. If you think about how much you’d have to filter or run to get hot, that’s a lot of water, so how many bottles of water or cases of water am I going to use while this is being fixed?” Gourdine says.
According to the Charleston Water System, because Debby brought in so much rain it’s taking a long time for it to move through their watershed especially when some inland areas are still experiencing flooding, and that water is still making its way into the water sources.
Saia says they are hoping to see an improvement by this weekend, but that they have no way of putting a definitive date on when this issue will end.
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