Discoloured water
Discoloured water is usually caused by the disturbance of deposits in the water pipes. The disturbance of deposits can happen when a water main is shut off due to essential maintenance or in an emergency.
Discoloured water is unlikely to be harmful to health but we wouldn’t expect anyone to drink it when it looks unpleasant. It usually clears fairly quickly after a few minutes of flushing your taps through but it may take around 45 minutes of running the tap before it clears.
With our In Your Area service, you can find out if there is any planned or emergency work near you that could affect your water supply.
In your area
Check if there is any work or reported incidents near you that could be affecting your water supply, or sign up to receive alerts and updates.
Avoid washing clothes until the water is clear but if you have and the discoloured water has stained your washing, please re-wash when the supply has cleared. If the clothes are still stained after re-washing please keep the stained clothes and contact us.