Well upgrade causing discoloration in Hampstead area water

HAMPSTEAD, NC (WWAY) — A whole new set of water worries for citizens in Hampstead.

“I filled up the water in the bathtub and in the sink and it was brown and very sludgy. You could actively see the sediment falling into the basin of the sink at that point and in the bathtub,” Mandy Ware, a resident, said.

The Carolina Water Service is warning customers in Hampstead on Thursday of some discoloration in the water due to a well upgrade. But many people in the neighborhood said they started noticing the discoloration Wednesday.

“I think they should have notified the users at the same time. That should be in part of the planning, not after the fact,” Winsome Erkan, a resident, said.

Vice President of Operations Bryce Mendenhall said the company just upgraded one of its wells. In the process, Mendenhall said they had to switch the direction of the water flow which has stirred everything up.

Some people had built up residue in their bathtub and toilets and others saw their white clothes turn partly yellow.

“There’s still a brownish, orange tint to the water and you can still see when you let the water drain out that there’s been sediment floating on the top of it and then it just kind of settles on the bottom of the basin of the sink or in the tub,” Ware said.

“I wondered why the clothes that I washed yesterday were all yellow splotches and I just had no idea what was going on,” Erkan said.

Mendenhall said they are aware of the discoloration customers are experiencing. He said the quality of water is fine, but it is not aesthetically appealing.

“Which is absurd to me because if I handed you a bottle of water and one looked brown and orange and I handed you a clear bottle of water, you clearly wouldn’t choose the bottle that was brown. You would choose the crystal clear water,” Ware said.

Mendenhall said they are working on flushing the system out right now. He asks customers to be patient while they get everything cleared out.

Mendenhall did not have a specific timeline, but hopes it will not take more than a day or two. He said once it is clear, the system will be better than before because of the well upgrade.

Mendenhall said they are in the process of letting customers know about the problem when we talked to him around 10:30 this morning.