full screen background image

Brown and yellow tap water ‘not harmful’, insist United Utilities


Residents from across Salford who reported ‘dirty’ and discoloured water coming from taps in their homes shouldn’t be concerned, says the authority who control the water supply.

Readers across Patricroft, Eccles, Monton, Swinton, Worsley and Walkden posted in SalfordOnline.com’s 18,000-member Facebook group that from around 7pm on Wednesday evening they’d noticed a light yellow or brown hue when filing kettles or running baths.

Concerns grew that the water could have been harmful to human health.

But United Utilities say because the water supply was still chlorinated it was fine to drink, and would have caused no health issues.

The authority said that routine valve work on pipes in Salford stirred up sediment which made its way into the water supply.

These microbes and particles apparently occur naturally in water and are not dangerous.

A spokesman for United Utilities said: “We’re really sorry if SalfordOnline.com readers had issues with their water supplies last night.

“Our engineers were carrying out routine work to change the way water flows on our network.

“Unfortunately, this seems to have stirred up naturally occurring sediment in the pipes which may have affected the colour of the water.

“It isn’t harmful as the supply is chlorinated as usual.

“Running the tap slowly for a few minutes is usually enough to clear any discolouration.”

Facebook Comments