The city of Asheville is still warning residents with discolored water not to use it for cooking or drinking. The reddish, dirty color is due to repairs on a broken water main. The city says the number of homes affected is decreasing, but murky water remains in parts of the north, east and west areas of its service.

Latest full announcement from the city below:

ASHEVILLE – Water resources crews continue to flush water lines throughout the city. Work this morning focused on areas where murky water had been reported as well as the following areas in the north, west and east districts:

North District: Merrimon Avenue area
West District: Haywood Road near Fairfax Avenue, Sand Hill Road, Johnston Boulevard and Meadows Apartments
East District: New Salem Road, Owen Middle School area, Grovemost subdivision

Pipe flushing removes the naturally occurring minerals and sediments that were stripped from the walls of water pipes during Monday’s major water line repair. A break in a 36-inch major water line requires valves to be shut off and water to be diverted to smaller pipes while repairs are made. Once the repair was completed, water was carefully redirected back through the 36-inch line. The velocity of the water and the change in flow direction caused minerals and sediments to be stripped from the walls of the pipes, resulting in discolored water.

While the water is safe for cleaning, hand washing and bathing, officials recommend the discolored water not be used for cooking or drinking as a precaution. Customers are also advised not to wash clothing with the discolored water because it may cause stains. Because the system remained closed and there is no belief that pathogens entered the system, a boil advisory has not been issued.

Customers are reminded hot water heaters store water and if discolored water has entered the tank, it may take the hot water longer to return to normal. In addition to the large scale pipe flushing efforts run by water resources crews, customers experiencing discolored water may consider running faucets for a short period of time to rid pipes of discolored water. Customers are also encouraged to check residential filters and faucet screens for sediments. In many cases this is simple and involves unscrewing the screen at the head of a faucet.

Once water color returns to normal it is safe for all uses.

To report discolored water, please call 251-1122.