Water discolouration

Our water network has naturally occurring minerals that settle along the bottom of our pipes. This sediment doesn’t normally reach your water meter. However, vibrations from nearby construction, outages or utility work can churn it up and cause discolouration.

Any discolouration resulting from an outage, or other disturbance to our pipes, should be temporary.

Water may also appear discoloured due to the age and condition of your property’s internal plumbing. Such as ageing hot water systems and corroded pipes or fittings.

The first thing you should do is check whether the issue is in your internal plumbing or our network. You can do this by testing the tap closest to your meter, generally your front garden tap. 

If the water coming out of this tap is not discoloured, you may have an internal plumbing issue. We recommend you call a licensed plumber for advice.

If water from your front tap is discoloured, check our outages page. If there is an outage in your area, you may need to wait for it to resolve. 

If there is no outage, or one has recently been resolved, we suggest you:

• Run the tap closest to your water meter for three minutes to flush the lines.
• Allow an hour for the discolouration in our network to clear. 
• Run your front tap again to flush the pipe between our network and your tap. 

If you’re still experiencing discoloured water after an hour, please give our team a call on 02 6248 3111 (select option 1).

If you are experiencing orange, brown, black or straw-coloured yellow water, one of the first things you should do is check the tap closest to your water meter. It’s usually a garden tap at the front of your house.

If the water coming out of this tap is not discoloured, you may have an internal plumbing issue. We recommend you call a licensed plumber for advice.

If the water coming out of your front tap is discoloured, check our outage map to see if there is a fault in your area.

If there is no outage, or one has recently been resolved, we suggest you:

• Let water run from your front tap for three minutes.
• Wait an hour.
• Run your front tap again to see if the discolouration clears.

If you are still experiencing discoloured water after an hour, please give our team a call on 02 6248 3111 (select option 1).

This may be a sign of corrosion within your internal plumbing. If you’re experiencing any of the following: 

• A metallic or bitter taste.
• Distinct blue/green cloudy water.
• Blue particles in your water.
• Staining around your fittings.

We recommend you call a licensed plumber for advice.

If the blue, green or cloudy colour is observed at the garden tap closest to your meter, or you have concerns about the water supplied to your home, please contact us on 02 6248 3111. 

You can find out more about copper levels within Canberra’s water supply by reading our annual reports.

Why this might be occurring

This is usually due to a disturbance of the naturally-occurring iron and manganese minerals that exist in our network. This sediment is normally settled at the bottom of the water pipes and doesn’t reach your water meter. Any discolouration from disturbed sediment should be temporary.

Sediment may also appear due to the age and condition of internal plumbing at your property; including corroded pipes and fittings; particularly those made of galvanised iron.

How you can investigate

Use a white container or glass to compare the water collected within different taps of your home and the water at the garden tap closest to the meter. Consider the taps being investigated and what the observations will tell you about the source of the issue.
 

• Take note of the time of day and when the tap was last used
• Take note of the type of tap being used – is the tap a flick mixer, a hot tap or a cold tap or front garden tap? For instance, flick mixers can be can be receiving water from the hot water service even when running ‘cold’
• Run the tap for three minutes, collect a sample and observe the water within natural daylight. If using a glass, place a white piece of paper behind and underneath to assist with your observations
   

What to do if sediment is ongoing at the front garden tap

If the sediment is observed at the garden tap closest to your meter and this doesn’t clear in a reasonable timeframe (e.g. one hour) or you don’t have a garden tap, ask your neighbours if they are experiencing the same issue, as this may be a result of a change in the network.

If sediment is persisting at your front garden tap, we encourage you to contact us on 02 6248 3111.

What to do if sediment is ongoing from internal sources

If the sediment is only observed from internal taps, this is an indicator that you may have internal plumbing or maintenance issues and you may wish to engage a licenced plumber for advice. Helpful things to look out for are:
 

• Sediment isolated to hot water taps or hot/cold mixers
  • This could be due to a deteriorated hot water service
• Sediment noticed after periods of low use (e.g. in the morning)
  • This should clear after flushing but is an indicator that deteriorating pipes are releasing particles to water when the lines are stagnant
     

Why this might be occurring
Mould-like staining within faucets, basins, toilet cisterns, dog bowls, shower heads and other kitchen and bathroom surfaces is common around the home. Airborne bacteria grow particularly well in places which are warm and moist and often produce visible pigments that can range in colour from pink and orange to black. These bacteria exist naturally in the environment and do not come from Icon Water’s supply. 

Filter cartridges that haven’t been regularly replaced are also prone to build-up of similar particles.

How you can investigate
You can minimise the occurrence of the problem by regularly cleaning surfaces with chlorine-based disinfectant. Improving the ventilation to the area and keeping surfaces dry will also help to control the problem.

Regularly cleaning the inside of tap fittings (particularly those with mesh-like inserts) will also minimise the issue.

This could be a sign of issues with your internal plumbing. Such as issues with:

• flexible hose connections
• tap washers
• gaskets and o-rings
• hot water systems

We recommend you call a licensed plumber for advice.

If black specks are observed at the garden tap closest to your meter, or you have concerns about the water supplied to your home, please contact us on 02 6248 3111.

A white, grey, cloudy or milky appearance can often mean there is air in the water. This could be because of:

• Something within your internal plumbing, like aeration devices or hot water services.
• Nearby essential works causing air to enter the water network.

To test if the issue is air, leave a glass of water on the counter for a minute. 

If the discolouration rises and disappears, there is air in the pipes. This means the discolouration will settle.

If the discolouration does not clear or settles at the bottom of the glass, check your front tap. 

• If the water coming out of the front tap is also discoloured, call us.
• If the water coming out of this tap is not discoloured, you may have an internal plumbing issue. We recommend you call a licensed plumber for advice.
   

We do not recommend that you drink, bathe or cook with discoloured water that appears, tastes or smells objectionable. 

It’s better not to use household appliances, such as your dishwasher or washing machine, due to possible staining or discolouration.