Wakulla County residents seek answers after dealing with discolored water

WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WCTV) - Talquin Electric Cooperative said thousands of customers are dealing with discolored water and they are working to fix the problem.

Crawfordville resident, Neil Branch, said he purchased his home brand new two years ago, but the water is often dark and brown. “We were setting a bath for the grandkids, and that’s when we noticed it for the first time,” said Branch.

Talquin’s Manager of Water, John Hallas, Ph.D, explained to WCTV the source of the problem. “This is coming, mostly, from naturally occurring metals from the aquifer - mostly iron and manganese,” said Hallas. “There’s no known health risk with these, but Talquin doesn’t expect our members to deal with discolored water.”

Hallas said the co-op added filtration systems to its well sites. “We’re continuing to adjust those to deal with this incoming iron and manganese issue,” said Hallas.

Another factor complicating the problem is the growing number of people moving to Wakulla County, according to Talquin. Currently, the organization serves about 8,500 people in the county, but Hallas said that number is consistently increasing.

“We’re doing everything we can to remediate the situation,” said Hallas. He expects residents to have clear water in the “near future.”