‘Peggers should keep an eye out for brown water as the city’s water usage rates soar under the hot sun.
The City of Winnipeg issued a notice on Tuesday, saying that when water demands are at their peak, the buildup of material in the city’s water main pipes can loosen, causing brown water.
“311 has been experiencing an increase in the number of calls reporting discoloured water since the hot, dry weather began,” says the notice. “With the hot, dry weather in the long-range forecast, water use is expected to increase, and, as a result, the incidence of discoloured water will continue.”
If your water is brown, don’t use it for preparing food and beverages, medical and dental procedures, or laundry. Drinking the brown water should not make people sick, says the City, however, it may not smell, taste or look very good.
If residents discover brown water, they should run the tap for 10 minutes then wait half an hour, said the City.
The City’s peak hourly water use reached a high of 18.8 million litres on Monday, July 9, 2012. While high, this is still greatly below the record, which was 40 million litres on a day in 1988.
-Staff
