Color or Visual Appearance of Water
Yellow or Brown Water Upon First Draw of Faucet
Your home’s internal plumbing is the likely cause if brown or yellow water appears for only a minute or two after the tap is turned on. This is caused by the water becoming discolored as it comes in contact with bare iron in galvanized plumbing. The longer the water sits stagnant in the plumbing, the worse the discoloration will be. This is why the problem is noticeable the first time the tap is turned on after not being used for a period of time. If only a few taps show this discoloration, only a portion of your home’s internal plumbing contains galvanized pipes. Since iron is an essential nutrient, this condition poses no health hazard. To clear the discolored water, simply run your tap for a few minutes to clear out the discolored water and replace it with clean water from the water main or your hot water heater.
Yellow or Brown Water Running Consistently
Occasionally, a disturbance of pipeline sediment in the water main can cause yellow to brown water which will not clear up after running your tap for one to two minutes. The discoloration is caused by dissolved iron which is stirred up in naturally occurring sediments that exist in all water mains. Causes of the sediment disturbance condition can include:
- Rapid changes in water pressure due to fire hydrant use.
- Water flow reversal in the water main due to system operations.
- Construction activity or pipeline repair in the area.
- Planned mainline flushing, which is designed to remove accumulated sediment.
Although the water appears discolored, this does not indicate that the water is unsafe. Free chlorine is used as a residual disinfectant that is maintained throughout the distribution system at all times to ensure that the water is safe for cooking and drinking. However, it is advised to avoid doing laundry until the water clears up, for aesthetic reasons. In order to purge discolored water from your home’s plumbing, use the following procedure*:
- Wait at least an hour before normal water use to let flow patterns re-establish themselves to baseline levels. This will allow any sediment to settle.
- Flush water at full velocity from your front hose spigot until it runs clear. This should take no longer than two to three minutes. If the water is still colored after three minutes, turn the hose spigot off, wait another hour and attempt to flush water at full velocity once again before proceeding to the next steps.
- Flush the inside cold water taps in your home until they flow clear. Try to flush the faucet nearest your front hose spigot first, then move to the other cold water spigots in your home.
- In the event that colored water has been drawn into your hot water heater, the hot water can continue to be used until the discoloration dissipates. This is preferred over draining and refilling your hot water heater, which may require expert help from a licensed plumber.
*Following the procedure to purge discolored water from your home’s plumbing will generally take care of the problem. However, depending on the conditions at the time of the colored water observation, it may be necessary to repeat the process more than once. If the discoloration continues for more than a day, call the SLVWD staff at (831)338-2153.
Cloudy or Milky Water
If you notice that your water sometimes comes out of the tap cloudy, or has a milky appearance, this cloudiness is caused by what is called entrained air. Entrained air does not affect the quality of your water, it is perfectly safe to drink. If you allow a glass of water containing entrained air to sit undisturbed for a few minutes, you will notice that the glass of water will turn clear as the bubbles rise to the top of the water and escape into the atmosphere. Entrained air is caused by air under pressure in water pipes, similar to carbon dioxide in a bottle of soda. When the tap is turned on, the pressure is released, which allows the entrained air to appear as tiny bubbles, similar to when a bottle of soda is opened and the soda begins to fizz.
Blue-Green Color
Blue-green water may be due to copper plumbing corrosion, which is not a common occurrence. If copper plumbing corrosion is occurring, the water will leave a blueish-green stain on plumbing fixtures and the water itself could have a blueish-green tint. Copper plumbing corrosion can be caused by a home’s electrical system being grounded to the water pipes, especially if the home has a combination of pipe material installed, such as some galvanized pipe and some copper pipe without proper insulating joints installed between these two different materials.