The city of Columbia said Thursday it expects tap water discoloration to clear up within 24 hours as excess minerals are flushed out of the system.
The city maintains that, despite the discoloration, the tap water is safe to drink.
"We started seeing issues late Tuesday, and then into Wednesday morning is when the majority of people started seeing things," said Jason West, city of Columbia Utilities Communication and Outreach Supervisor.
The city sent a news release addressing the discoloration around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday.
The news release said the discoloration of the water was caused by construction work on the main transmission line during upgrades at the McBaine Water Treatment Plant.
"It took a little longer for the new equipment to get installed and planned for," West said. "And when that happened, there was still a little sediment in the line. With the new pressure coming through there to feed the majority of the city, it did cause some of that sediment to come loose."
West said the water discoloration issue wasn't reported in a certain zone.
"It wasn't city wide, but there were multiple areas within the city that were reporting issues." West said.
West said the elements coming through the water are mostly calcium and magnesium, which are natural elements that occur in water.
Columbia’s drinking water is tested every day in multiple locations to ensure its safety, according to the city.
"We had gotten some random samples on Wednesday, and were able to test those throughout the day and to help know that the drinking water was safe to drink," West said.
While the city said the water is safe to drink, some businesses were still concerned about serving it to customers.
A barista at Delysium Artisan Bakery, Madeline Sapp, said she noticed the water discoloration issue early Thursday morning.
"Everything we do use a lot of the water for our pastries, so we have to go out and buy bottled water to use for our pastries, too," Sapp said.
The city suggested residents run the faucet for a few minutes to flush the excess minerals out of pipes and boil water for three minutes before consuming it, though boiling is not necessary.
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