PITTSVILLE, Md. - Water issues plaguing the rural Wicomico County town of Pittsville have residents increasingly frustrated, with discoloration and odor problems reaching a boiling point.
Last month, residents complained about an unusual odor coming from the water supply. Now, some neighbors say the issue has escalated to include discolored and cloudy water, especially noticeable during the morning hours.
Shelbi Moore, a Pittsville resident, shared a photo with WBOC showing her bathtub filled with visibly discolored water. Moore described the discoloration as recurring in cycles.
"From time to time, you'll start to see a brown tinge to the water, and then over the course of a few weeks it'll turn yellowish and then eventually to the color it's supposed to be," Moore explained. She added she no longer bathes her daughter in the town's water, resorting instead to buying bottled water in bulk.
"Living inside of town limits, I just feel like that's something that they're responsible for," Moore said, expressing her desire for the town to cover the added expense.
Town officials attribute the discoloration to higher-than-normal iron levels. In a statement, town officials noted, "The water operators have reestablished the treatment process. However, discolored water still remains in the distribution system. The water operators are working to flush the distribution system to reduce the remaining discoloration."
The town continues to stress that despite the discoloration and unpleasant appearance, the water remains safe for consumption. This assurance, however, has not eased concerns for residents like Carol Castle.
"It's very frustrating and it's dangerous," Castle stated. "When they say that water's safe to drink—it's not. I wouldn't even let my dog, Lucy, drink it."
UPDATED:
Pittsville Town Commission President Sean McHugh provided WBOC with the following statement on Friday morning:
“The Town of Pittsville’s water treatment plant is currently in the first phase of a complete rebuild funded by the State of Maryland's Department of Environment, Grant funds, and Town funds. As previously stated during the construction, there may be service interruptions and/or water discoloration as parts of the plant will be performing double the work as their counterparts are being rebuilt.
This project will continue into the fall and although every effort to prevent these incidents from happening, we are prepared to address and correct them as the occur. During construction a few weeks ago, a well pump was malfunctioning and was needed to be replaced. While waiting for this pump to be replaced, another well pump was utilized for another well the town draws water from. Unfortunately, this aquifer has a history of higher iron content which the plant operators and the plant had to make adjustments during the treatment process to ensure the water quality was minimally effected.
This past weekend there was a malfunction that was induced by a chlorinator equipment malfunction that is scheduled to be replaced during the rebuild of the water treatment plant. This incident has been rectified. Due to this, increased iron got into the distribution system and effected to color and odor of the water as it would have a metallic smell to it.
Residents are given the recommendation to flush their hot water heaters to remove any sediment that has settled to the bottom of their in home water tank heaters. I personally have to do this for mine when I get the chance to do it for my home.
I understand the frustration of the residents during this time and I am aware of the history of how events were handled in the past prior to me taking my elected position and then appointed position as the Commission President. I can assure you I, the other commissioners, and employees take these matters seriously. Our engineering firm completed an assessment and recommended strategic hydrant flushing after this incident to help remove iron from the distribution lines. This is outside of our normal yearly flushing that last occurred in October of 2024.
The town as always will consider all options on how to prevent incidents like this happening in the days, months, and years ahead. We are grateful to have the opportunity to serve our community and residents concerns are of utmost importance to us.
I am asking for patience from the residents throughout the duration of the construction project of the water treatment facility. As we will make every effort to deliver water quality that our residents deserve, we will prepare for times when incidents like I have outlined above unfortunately happen.”
