Winnipeg why is my water brown

Search Submit search Quick Search. Comments Close comments menu. Video link. Close X. Click to scroll back to top of the page Back to top. Posted May 3, pm. Updated May 3, pm. View image in full screen. Smaller font Descrease article font size - A.

The water main cleaning program is scheduled to begin on May 15, View detailed maps North , South of the areas we'll be flushing. We flush water mains every year. Water Services crews work every day of the year except Christmas Day, from 8 a. Flushing the mains help preserve the quality of water as it passes from our drinking water treatment plant to your taps.

Beginning in , we fast tracked the schedule of the Water Main Cleaning Program to flush all 2, kilometres in a three-year program, compared to the routine program of six years.

This is one of the measures we are taking to reduce discoloured water. We force water through the water mains at a high speed and discharge it through hydrants into sewers. The fast moving water scours and cleans the mains. We leave the hydrants open until the water runs clear. There are about 2, kilometres of water mains in Winnipeg. In , we will flush about 20 percent of the water mains in Winnipeg. To see if your street is scheduled for water main flushing in the next few days, visit MyUtilityInfo.

If you live in a house We will deliver an notice to your home up to four days before we flush the water main on your street. We will leave a package of information, including a fact sheet on the program to hand out to tenants, and a notice to post in the building.

If you operate a business We will deliver a notice within four days in advance to let you know when the work will begin and how long it will take. We will leave a package of information, including a fact sheet on the program. On occasion, discoloured water can happen while we flush the water main on your street or a street nearby. Immediately after flushing, your water may be discoloured. Water is sometimes discoloured after water main flushing, but this should not last long.

Do not use discoloured water for any purposes that require clean water, such as preparing food and beverages, medical and dental procedures, or laundry. Discoloured water may contain metals e. In addition, discoloured water does not taste, smell or look pleasant, and it can stain clothes. Apartment property managers, landlords and business operators Before you turn your water back on to the building, we recommend that you:. Cloudy water Water is cloudy when air gets in it and makes tiny bubbles.

These bubbles are harmless and will disappear if you let the water sit for a few minutes. Chlorine smell We add enough chlorine to the water to keep it safe. You can easily get rid of the chlorine taste and smell by filling a container with water and keeping it in the fridge for drinking — much of the chlorine will leave the water overnight. Drinking discoloured water should not make you sick, however, it may not smell, taste, or look pleasant. Maryse Bouchard, a University of Montreal researcher who studies the toxicity of environmental contaminants, says studies have linked higher levels of manganese in water to lower IQs in children.

Josephson said the city is still investigating the cause. He said sediment in water pipes could account for higher iron and manganese levels. The city said it had 1, complaints about discoloured water from Aug. Diane Sacher, the City of Winnipeg's director of water and waste, says the city has conducted about tests of discoloured water over the last three years. Sacher added that the city has actually scaled back the testing because the discoloured water consistently meets health guidelines but fails to meet some esthetic guidelines.

Manitoba Winnipeg's brown water poses risk, biologist says Winnipeggers should think twice before drinking the brown water that is coming out of some city taps, according to a Manitoba biologist.