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Brown Water


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#1 sweetpeasmom

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Posted 06 August 2012 - 05:26 PM

I just ran a bath for my daughter and once the tub was filled it was completely brown. Anybody else having trouble with dirty looking water?

#2 ducky

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Posted 06 August 2012 - 05:57 PM

No problem here.

Sometimes that will happen if there's a problem further up the line or someone has taken out a fire hydrant.
It's too late to call the city now, but I'd call in the morning and asked if they worked on any lines in the area.

Did it come out clear after initially turning it on?

#3 4thgenFolsomite

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Posted 06 August 2012 - 06:22 PM

yeah, sometimes you just have to clear out the dirt after they do some work on the line. should be fine by now.
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#4 supermom

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Posted 06 August 2012 - 06:29 PM

You should unscrew the filter on your water faucet and clean out and dirt on the filter. reattach then run water. Do it until filter remains clean.

#5 sweetpeasmom

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Posted 06 August 2012 - 08:19 PM

It's still just as brown. I will try cleaning the filter. I took a shower tonight but I'm sure that water is just as brown. At least I couldn't tell!

#6 4thgenFolsomite

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Posted 07 August 2012 - 05:45 AM

if 24 hours later you can still fill a sink and the water isn't clear, then you should call the city water department.
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#7 crossski

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Posted 09 August 2012 - 08:46 AM

I would turn off your main valve for your sprinklers. Then run your water for a while to see if it clears.
Maybe you are getting some backflow through a faulty sprinkler zone valve.

#8 maestro

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Posted 11 August 2012 - 11:09 AM

Been involved with this before.

City will NOT voluntarily report issues to Regional Water Quality Control Board, NOR test and submit test results to board. Is this reportable? Ask water board staff.

You have no way of knowing constituents of concern without sampling, testing, reporting.

California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central .... Questions or comments may be directed to Wendy Wyels at (916) 464-4835 or <Wendy.Wyels@waterboards.ca.gov>;


Suggest you not take chances with health and safety, possible sewage involvement.

#9 headshrink

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Posted 11 August 2012 - 04:22 PM

I just ran a bath for my daughter and once the tub was filled it was completely brown. Anybody else having trouble with dirty looking water?


YES - finally another person with this problem! We get it in the parkway, although ours isn't completely brown, but theredefiantlyatly dirt that gets in there. I know we also have VERY loud water hammevery timetime the landscapingping valves on our property shut off. I keep turning down the pressure, and they keep turning it back up.... I think we are at war.

#10 Devdave

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Posted 11 August 2012 - 08:19 PM

If your house was built 1999 or later, it would have anti-siphon valves on all water sprinkler connections to the main.

Perhaps the Hot Water Heater is full of sediment and needs to be flushed or replaced, but if it were me, I'd also report it to the City and see if they'd come look at the situation.

#11 asbestoshills

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 07:53 AM

Folsom has had many problems with sewer issues in the past.
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#12 redman

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 08:48 PM

Folsom has had many problems with sewer issues in the past.


It is very unlikely to be sewer related. Potable water is delivered under pressure. Sewage flows by gravity at zero pressure, therefore it can't get into a pressurized water main. The only way sewage could be getting into your bathtub is back flowing up the drain due to a clogged line.

I'm a water system engineer by the way.

Take a very close look at your water heater. Our water is soft and corrodes metal fairly quickly if the coating fails. This happened to me. I noticed a shot of brown water in the bathtub when I first turned on the faucet. It wasn't too bad so I ignored it. Then about a month later my water heater gave out. The bottom had corroded out and water was pouring out into the garage. Our house was 10 years old.

#13 backflow

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Posted 13 August 2012 - 09:59 AM

It is very unlikely to be sewer related. Potable water is delivered under pressure. Sewage flows by gravity at zero pressure, therefore it can't get into a pressurized water main. The only way sewage could be getting into your bathtub is back flowing up the drain due to a clogged line.

I'm a water system engineer by the way.

Take a very close look at your water heater. Our water is soft and corrodes metal fairly quickly if the coating fails. This happened to me. I noticed a shot of brown water in the bathtub when I first turned on the faucet. It wasn't too bad so I ignored it. Then about a month later my water heater gave out. The bottom had corroded out and water was pouring out into the garage. Our house was 10 years old.

Sewage can get into the water.There are forced sewer mains all over town which are operate under the same pressures as the potable water pipes.There can also be conditions known as cross connections,which are non potable lines that have been connected to potable lines.The city has pipes that were supposed to be used exclusively for reclaimed water but were instead used for potable water.They are identified by the purple color of the pipe.Anyone seeing this color will normally treat it as a nonpotable source and therefore not take the precautions that would be taken for a potable water pipe.It was a recipe for disiaster to use these pipes for potable water but it saved the developers a few $$$.

#14 ducky

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Posted 13 August 2012 - 10:12 AM

Sewage can get into the water.There are forced sewer mains all over town which are operate under the same pressures as the potable water pipes.There can also be conditions known as cross connections,which are non potable lines that have been connected to potable lines.The city has pipes that were supposed to be used exclusively for reclaimed water but were instead used for potable water.They are identified by the purple color of the pipe.Anyone seeing this color will normally treat it as a nonpotable source and therefore not take the precautions that would be taken for a potable water pipe.It was a recipe for disiaster to use these pipes for potable water but it saved the developers a few $$$.


I don't know of any area in Folsom that uses reclaimed water right now. I know this happened in El Dorado Hills and that they plan on using reclaimed water from the El Dorado Irrgation District for South of 50.
Where in Folsom do they have purple pipes right now?

I always thought the sewer system had backflow valves to make sure the sewers didn't back up into homes. Is there such a thing?

Sweetpeasmom, if you are concerned about water quality you can always ask the city to come out and test for peace of mind. Did you ever find out if they had worked on the lines around you?

If it's the sprinkler problem, can't that cause water quality problems if there is no backflow regulator properly installed? I've heard that some nasties in the water can get sucked back into your home supply from your yard if that's not done properly, but I'm thinking the newer homes wouldn't have that problem.

#15 backflow

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Posted 13 August 2012 - 10:49 AM

I don't know of any area in Folsom that uses reclaimed water right now. I know this happened in El Dorado Hills and that they plan on using reclaimed water from the El Dorado Irrgation District for South of 50.
Where in Folsom do they have purple pipes right now?

I always thought the sewer system had backflow valves to make sure the sewers didn't back up into homes. Is there such a thing?

Sweetpeasmom, if you are concerned about water quality you can always ask the city to come out and test for peace of mind. Did you ever find out if they had worked on the lines around you?

If it's the sprinkler problem, can't that cause water quality problems if there is no backflow regulator properly installed? I've heard that some nasties in the water can get sucked back into your home supply from your yard if that's not done properly, but I'm thinking the newer homes wouldn't have that problem.

The pipes in question were intended for reclaimed water in the future but were used for potable water when the reclaimed water did not materialize.The purple pipes are located in Empire Ranch mainly around golf links drive.There are no such devices to stop sewer backflow on the sewer system,there are backflow devices on the potable lines but only on commercial and landscape services.




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