Would you drink this? Dark, brown water plaguing Brazoria County neighborhood
BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Emily and Earl Willis' two year old home in Brazoria County doesn't always feel like home, at least not given the brown water the flows from their faucets nearly every day.
"They say it's safe to drink," said Emily Willis. "But I mean nobody would want to drink that kind of water."
Her husband agreed.
"Bathing your children in brown, dark water is something I don't think anyone wants to do," he said.
They aren't the only ones in the Beechwood subdivision with the issue.
William Lewis has only lived in his house since May.
"That's just disgusting," Lewis said, while holding up a mason jar full of brown, sediment-rich water. "If you take the clothes out of the washing machine they stink. You know it's the water, right?"
In fact, the majority of the 109 homes in the subdivision have water that looks like this - brown from deposits of iron and manganese.
They blame an old system that sits behind the neighborhood.
The company that owns the system is called Undine. It bought the water system in Beechwood and in 31 other neighborhoods six months ago. They admit the problem existed when they bought it and they're working to fix it. There are varying degrees of brown water in all of the systems they purchased.
"I sure appreciate their concern because they don't see a lot of the action that we're taking," company spokesperson Rick Melcher told Eyewitness News. "Within the next 30 to 60 days I'll be going out to the Beechwood subdivision and the others in the Orbit system to let them know exactly what improvements we have planned, including how we're treating discolored water."
The company spokesman told ABC13 they want residents to know they will work on the problem until they fix it. While they say water is "safe" to drink, they understand the urgency.
For residents who say they've complained for months, they just want results.
"They bought the company," said Lewis. "They knew the company had problems. You inherit what you get when you buy it."
"I want them to fix it and make it a safe neighborhood," added Emily Willis.
