Resident in town outside of Houston complaining of 'yellow-brown' drinking water

Sweeny residents say the water is 'nasty, yellow'

FOX 26 Reporter Matthew Seedorff spoke with residents who said their water is 'nasty.'

BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas - Residents in Sweeny, Texas are complaining about their water being a yellow-brown color.

"We don’t drink the water here, period," said Thad McBride. "It destroys a lot of things at your home."

Photos taken from inside homes in Sweeny show water coming out of faucets a murky yellow-brown color.

"I had some water here where I put it in a jar one time and left it for four or five days," said McBride. "It turns black."

The population of Sweeny is less than 4,000. According to some residents, they have had issues with the city’s drinking water for years. However, some say the yellow and brown colors in the water has recently become even more noticeable.

"Lately, it’s been a lot more brown," said Linda Bostrom. "I don’t drink the water. I haven't drunk the water since I moved to Sweeny."

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According to city officials, they’ve identified several potential things that could be causing the water to be colored. However, they’re still not 100% sure what the main issue is.

"We have passed all state required tests, per TCEQ," said Sweeny City Manager Lindsay Koskiniemi. "But, it doesn’t alleviate the fact there are coloration issues with the water."

Although city officials say the water is safe to drink, they have received several calls complaining about the coloration. So far this year, Sweeny officials have received 56 calls from people complaining about dirty water.

City leaders in Sweeny are planning to hold a special session Monday afternoon to discuss the water issues. So far, a timeline to fix the coloration problem is unknown.