"It’s pretty nasty": Edgewood residents dealing with discolored water
EDGEWOOD, Texas - Another North Texas city is having issues with its drinking water.
Edgewood water issues
What we know:
Since August, residents of the city of Edgewood in Van Zandt County have been experiencing issues with their drinking water. Edgewood sits 60 miles east of Dallas.
Images posted to social media show brown, discolored water coming out of faucets in the city. Residents also describe a negative odor associated with the water.
Dig deeper:
In an Aug. 17 Facebook post, Edgewood said the discoloration was due to manganese passing through the water treatment plant, and said nearby construction could also have caused the issue.
The city stated that no presence of Coliform or E. coli had been found in routine water tests at the time, and that the city's water was safe to drink.
As of Sept. 8, residents were still reporting discolored water.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality conducted an investigation into the city's water issues and confirmed an elevated level of manganese, and advised city officials to coat its water distribution lines with zinc phosphate to combat the water clarity issues.
The zinc phosphate was added on Sept. 3. The city has also adjusted other chemicals in the water to increase the pH level, and advised water plant operators to determine optimal conditions for lower manganese levels.
"Looks like lake water to me"
What they're saying:
"It’s pretty nasty. It’s brown. It smells."
Edgewood resident Dustin Dennis tells FOX 4's David Sentendrey the entire city is experiencing discolored water issues.
"We stay stocked up on bottled water because we don't want to brush our teeth with that."
Dustin Dennis
Another resident tells Sentendrey she's doing her laundry in another town due to the water concerns.
Dennis says he doesn't want to lay the blame on anybody, but he wants the water issues resolved.
"Just ready for it to be fixed, and so we can at least feel comfortable taking a bath, right?" Dennis continued. "If we could just feel comfortable putting the kids in the bath, that would be a win."
What's next:
TCEQ says based on the changes made to Edgewood's water systems, it expects the discoloration issue to be resolved by the end of this week.
Trinidad water saga
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Charges dismissed against Trinidad water protestors
A Henderson County grand jury and a municipal judge have dismissed all charges against two citizen journalists arrested in Trinidad, Texas, following public outcry over the city's ongoing water issues and First Amendment rights.
Big picture view:
Edgewood is the second city in North Texas to deal with significant water issues. Residents of Trinidad, a city that sits over an hour south of Dallas, also reported discolored water in April.
After the arrest of a citizen journalist who claimed in a Facebook post that residents had been hospitalized over the water (a report FOX 4 has not verified), Trinidad has undergone significant leadership changes.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Prosecutors won't bring cases to Trinidad Police Department
The Trinidad Police Department has been effectively stripped of its power after local prosecutors said they won't bring cases to the department after controversial arrests. FOX 4's David Sentendrey has more.
The city's police chief and city staff have resigned following controversial arrests related to the water concerns, and the Trinidad Police Department is under investigation by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
TCEQ released a report on July 13 detailing problems with Trinidad's aging water distribution mains, failures in the system's design, and chemicals over 300% higher than the federally allowed limit in the water.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the City of Edgewood and previous FOX 4 reporting.