INVESTIGATION | What’s in the brown water in Charlestown?

Charlestown residents have had to do it for years.
Six years later, the water is still brown.
Records show the city flushes the systems at least eight or nine times a year to try to clear the lines.
With the help of residents, WDRB News had the water tested.
But after an 18-hour test and despite the color, the lab said this water is free from E-coli and safe to drink.
For the next sample, we went back to the lab, this time to test for lead, copper and other metals.
The city’s levels tested much lower than ours, but .2 is still four times the EPA limit.
But Hall said even if the sale goes through, it’ll be years until it’s all fixed.
Hall said Indiana American Water is expected to fix the water by replacing pipes in five years.
Hall said when the water is brown, he wouldn’t recommend drinking it.

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