IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Place your bets on what is coming out of some Iredell County residents' faucets. If you ask homeowners, they describe it as barbeque sauce or even tea. But that's not what it's supposed to be. It's water that residents are expected to be able to use when drinking, cooking and bathing.
Iredell County residents said they've been having issues for years.
Casey Lyles said it's been happening since he moved into his newly built home just two years ago.
“The problem worse on some days and it wouldn’t be quite as bad, then it would get really bad," Lyles said.
Residents have reached out to Iredell Water Corporation about the issue.
“They first told us our house was plumbed wrong, we had a plumber check and everything was plumbed correctly," Lyle said.
The company recommended Lyle purchase additional filters. Lyle did.
“Now it’s costing us $10 every three to four days," Lyle said. "And the water is still dirty looking and full of sediment."
Lyle said it'll cost him about $900 extra a year if he continues to buy and change the water filters.
Residents also have concerns about the safety and drinkability of the water.
A report by Lancaster Water Group detailed the chemical makeup of the water. It showed a failing grade when it comes to hardness and iron.
Frank LaRosa has been working in water treatment for 25 years and is with Well Doctor. He said by the report, the water is drinkable and not a hazard, but residents will see the physical impacts.
“Very seldom do you see well water that doesn’t need some sort of treatment," LaRosa said. "Your plumbing, fixtures, appliances, hair skin, clothes... Everything will be impacted by this raw water.”
You can see the marks on Erika Goodnight's home. Her shower is full of dark brown stains where the water directly hits on the ground from the showerhead.
“It’s just disgusting looking and it’s frustrating," Goodnight said.
We reached out to Iredell Water about the claims. The company sent WCNC Charlotte the following statement:
"In December, Iredell Water received a call from a customer who had also posted pictures of water filters on social media. Iredell Water staff visited the home three different times over the course of five days to assess the situation.
During the investigation, it was discovered that a nearby water pump was not operating properly and creating an issue with the water’s aesthetics, most notably an increased level of iron. We are a groundwater system and minerals, such as iron and manganese, are present in our water at levels that meet state and federal standards.
Normal water checks occur daily throughout the approximately 450 miles of distribution system Iredell Water operates. We have focused more attention to this area so we can continue to access the situation.
Increased monitoring is being accomplished through more visits to our closest well water production site, reactive flushing as we have performed in the area of recent complaints, and more detailed monitoring of the remote data received from the well water treatment facility. Proactive flushing is sometimes scheduled as more data becomes available from customer feedback.
Water sampling can occur in frequencies ranging from daily (when checking disinfectant residuals) to monthly to every three years in a water system, depending upon the contamiant we are sampling for.
Sampling is scheduled at the resident’s home again this coming week, with the assistance of NCDEQ staff. Sample results from the particular home will be shared directly with the customer. They are not made public out of respect to the customer.
Other results of normally scheduled testing can be found on NC Drinking Water Watch for any water system in NC - https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/drinking-water/drinking-water-watch - or through our Consumer Confidence Report, commonly referred to as the CCR - which all water utilities are required to produce to our customers each year. Our latest report can be found on our website. https://www.iredellwater.com/water-quality-report
There had also been a water main break in the vicinity at the time, which caused some customers to experience discolored water. The discolored water, while not aesthetically pleasing, remained safe to drink at all times.
Iredell Water notified customers in the proximity of the complaint and performed directional flushing in the area to remove mineral build-up in the water mains, which may have contributed to the issue. Staff also worked to change the operation of the nearby pump to eliminate the issue of high-velocity pumping spikes, which seemed to be occurring.
Iredell Water increased our monitoring of the nearby pump to track the repair. We’ve been in contact with the North Carolina Department of Environment Quality and are continuing to sample the drinking water in the area.
Based on our work in the area, the photos provided indicate that there may be an issue with the maintenance of the in-home drinking water filtration systems. We have spoken with the customer about their system, and we have spoken with NCDEQ about contacting the customer to fully investigate the current issue.
Iron and manganese are naturally occurring contaminants that are part of the EPA’s National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations, which cover non-mandatory water quality standards. These standards are established as guidelines to assist public water systems in managing their drinking water for aesthetic considerations, such as taste, color, and odor. The iron and manganese found in our water are at levels that are not considered to present a risk to human health.
Iredell Water encourages our customers to contact us directly if they believe they have a water quality issue. We invite them to call (704) 876-0673 at any time they notice a water quality issue or use the Contact Us section of our website, found at www.iredellwater.com."
Iredell Water also offered solutions to the impacted residents, but some aren't sitting right with Goodnight.
“They want an added filtration system on my home. Why is that my responsibility?" Goodnight asked. "And why is that my financial responsibility? I am infuriated because we just spent so much money building this home.”
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.