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Nederland residents upset over brown tap water

The water plant had issues, and that the district's raw water source is high in iron and manganese.

NEDERLAND — If you think residue in your water is bad, Imagine seeing brown water in your bathtub.

That is what some mid-county residents like Stacy Berwick say they've been dealing with for a year.

"You can't bathe in water like that. We've been told that we can drink water like that, but there's no way I'm going to drink the sludge coming out of our faucets," Berwick said.

Berwick and many others are sick of the sludge. They asked the Jefferson County Water Control and Improvement District 10 for answers at their meeting on Thursday.

"The high PH was pumped through the system, it wreaks havoc," general manager Tommy McDonald said.

He said that the water plant had issues and that the district's raw water source is high in iron and manganese.

McDonald says the iron and manganese is normally colorless in solution, but outside of a solution, it turns to a brown color.

The district says it's doing everything they can to minimize the color and improvements could be seen in the next few days.

Still, a few days is too many for distraught residents like Berwick.

"It's a huge deal in our neighborhood, it's unhealthy. And we're all paying for water that we can't even use. I'm glad that people are coming out now and are complaining about this," Berwick said.

The water district said the water is safe to drink.

People are encouraged to contact the water district at (409) 722-6922 if they are having issues with their water.

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