Residents Press Bladen County on 'Yellow' Tap Water as Officials Outline Fixes
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Summary
At a Feb. 16 meeting residents from the Westwater/Bladen Union Church Road area urged commissioners for relief after months of yellow, iron‑stained tap water; the county and Bladen County Water District described pump replacements and chemical recalibration and gave a tentative 4–8 week technical estimate to stabilize water quality.
Betty Jo Merritt and neighbors told the Bladen County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 16 that discolored water has stained toilets, bathtubs and clothing and left families worried about health and hygiene. "Clean water is a fundamental human right," Merritt said, asking the board to consider a $500 credit to offset months of billed water she called "awful water."
Melanie Woodruff, who said she lives a few doors down, told the board she has four children and is "not necessarily comfortable with my daughter sitting in a bathtub of orange water," and said she and her family now use bottled water for drinking and bathing.
Later in the meeting Bladen County Water District staff gave a technical update on corrective steps. The district reported it has replaced seven of nine phosphate‑feed pumps, is calibrating phosphate dosing per consultant John Walsh's recommendations and is planning a camera inspection for the Lisbon well, which has been offline since December. The district representative said elevated iron is widespread in groundwater and that recent line extensions and pressure testing created flow reversals that stirred sediment into service lines.
Consultant John Walsh estimated in his report that the corrective work could take "probably a 4 to 8 week period" to bring conditions into a stable range while pumps and chemical feed rates are dialed in. The district also said its disinfectant residuals are within the range the speaker cited from state/EPA guidance and that staff are testing the system daily: "the water by state and EPA guidelines is safe," the district speaker said, while acknowledging that the appearance and taste remain unpalatable for many customers.
Commissioners did not adopt an emergency credit or formal billing relief at the meeting; they voted to enter a session with Bladen County Water District and directed staff to continue technical adjustments, stay in frequent contact with affected residents and to advertise system updates publicly. Commissioners urged staff to treat callers with patience and to keep the public informed about testing and any temporary mitigations.
Officials asked residents to continue reporting occurrences to the water department and said additional interventions would be considered if conditions do not improve. The county did not set a date for a county‑funded refund; the specific credit request referenced by Merritt (a $500 household credit covering six months) was recorded as a citizen request to be considered, not a board directive.
What this means for residents: the district reports active technical fixes (pump replacement and phosphate recalibration) and a consultant timetable of several weeks, but residents should expect intermittent discoloration while flow patterns and chemical feeds are optimized. The board and water staff committed to continued monitoring and communication.
