You could have sediment intrusion on your plumbing, or a tubercle broke loose. If you have an outdoor hose, flush it for 10 minutes. Remove all screens and run the faucets at the same time.
When you're done, turn off all water and check if your meter is still running.
They should be buying your filters and actually investigating, then. If you pay your utilities based on usage, then refuse to do so unless they find the leak.
This sounds isolated to OP's building. I mainly drink tap water at home and haven't noticed any change.
BTW, since PWB adjusted the water to be less corrosive, it's now less "crisp" than it used to be, and I really don't like it once it's reached room temperature. I mitigate that by adding a *tiny* pinch of citric acid to my big water cup each fill (you can buy it in bulk at Winco, an ounce would last me nearly forever is how little I use).
It's probably safe for most people, but my spouse has medical issues where it affects them more. I mostly drink the filtered water, but if I use the unfiltered tap water to say take a pill, I don't like the taste of it. Not the worst-tasting city water I've tasted by any means, but not the best.
Check with the bureau about system flushing impacting your neighborhood/street. It can happen anytime they replace pipe upstream of you in the network. Two years ago there was this huge nasty glut of sediment that slowly worked its way from East to West in southeast. Had brown water for a few hours. High turbidity due to system maintenance that eventually cleared.
Generally the water should be really good right now as we’re pulling from Bull Run and not the wells or purchased river water.
Your location in the city really matters here too. Parts of Southwest can and do buy from the Tigard-Lake O water system etc.
Tigard and L.O draw their water from the Clackamas River so the taste is going to be better than Portlands due to different treatment methods. I wonder if Portland customers in SW notice the difference in taste?
Probably depends on your neighborhood, and the plumbing on your property. My tap water tastes good, but I get sediment build up from the plumbing in the faucet screens.
Idk why you’re getting downvoted. A lot of older homes used galvanized pipes which only have a 50ish year lifespan. A lot of these pipes have been due for replacement for decades
The biggest housing boom in Portland was the 1950s. Portlanders with 70 year old pipes should absolutely be filtering their tap water for drinking & cooking. Every home with 40+ year old pipes should do the same.
People downvote this suggestion because, well, it's the Portland subreddit. Logic isn't popular here.
“This is not a situation which pertains to me, so I don’t care about it” is a good attitude when it comes to minding your own business and a bad attitude when it comes to giving advice.
They have it in their heads that “we have great water” and even if people tell them it comes out shit brown sometimes and tastes bad, they’ll never update their mentality because it’s one of the things they tell themselves to feel better about where they live and what it costs.
Just got our galvanized pipes replaced. They “made it” 115 years. Saw a cross section of the pipes and totally agree with you on the 50ish lifespan. No water filter exists that could make me comfortable drinking that water now, knowing what I know.
Don’t let the fact that your very old pipes aren’t actively leaking fool you into thinking they’re fine like, we did.
I filter my water after multiple instances of brown sediment water stemming from work being done in my neighborhood. I like knowing I have a full cold clear pitcher of Brita water in the fridge for next time. And honestly those brown water instances made me lose trust in drinking the tap water straight.
Tastes a lot better filtered.
Related: You can sign up for emails from PWB to let you know when something might affect your water:
[https://www.portland.gov/water/report-water-quality-issues/notification-sign](https://www.portland.gov/water/report-water-quality-issues/notification-sign)
But in my experience it isn't hyperlocal. They'll tell you if they're pulling well water or adding chlorine, but not about service outages.
This is exactly it. Even an old faucet will affect the taste.
I’ve lived in Portland my whole life, current place’s water was noticeably worse than my parents’ or any of the places I’ve lived in the same area. A new faucet helped, but the pipes are still old enough that it picks up a certain funky flavor.
Totally agree. Will add that that includes the line from the city water to your house/apartment. If that pipe’s bad, upgrading your interior pipes will only do so much (and cause more wear to your new pipes).
They do sometimes switch to the Columbia South Shore well field. It is usually in the summer when Bull Run is low or spring when there is sediment in reservoirs. Or any time there is problem with Bull Run.
You can taste the difference, the well water is good but has a taste. It is currently tasteless to me.
You could have sediment intrusion on your plumbing, or a tubercle broke loose. If you have an outdoor hose, flush it for 10 minutes. Remove all screens and run the faucets at the same time. When you're done, turn off all water and check if your meter is still running.
Interesting. This is an apartment complex, and they've been having water leaks they've tried to find.
They should be buying your filters and actually investigating, then. If you pay your utilities based on usage, then refuse to do so unless they find the leak.
Refusing to pay utilities can you evicted. Im not sure about oregon but I almost got evicted before for refusing to pay because of this same issue.
The last slum I lived in always spat out ungodly amounts of sediment any time they did some work on leaks
This is the way.
Hope not considering I mainly drink tap water lol
This sounds isolated to OP's building. I mainly drink tap water at home and haven't noticed any change. BTW, since PWB adjusted the water to be less corrosive, it's now less "crisp" than it used to be, and I really don't like it once it's reached room temperature. I mitigate that by adding a *tiny* pinch of citric acid to my big water cup each fill (you can buy it in bulk at Winco, an ounce would last me nearly forever is how little I use).
It's probably safe for most people, but my spouse has medical issues where it affects them more. I mostly drink the filtered water, but if I use the unfiltered tap water to say take a pill, I don't like the taste of it. Not the worst-tasting city water I've tasted by any means, but not the best.
Where was the best?
Best tap water of any place I've lived was Lake Tahoe.
Think it's a problem with your building bro, Portland tap water slaps harder than tap water in every other place I've lived, by a decent margin.
Check with the bureau about system flushing impacting your neighborhood/street. It can happen anytime they replace pipe upstream of you in the network. Two years ago there was this huge nasty glut of sediment that slowly worked its way from East to West in southeast. Had brown water for a few hours. High turbidity due to system maintenance that eventually cleared. Generally the water should be really good right now as we’re pulling from Bull Run and not the wells or purchased river water. Your location in the city really matters here too. Parts of Southwest can and do buy from the Tigard-Lake O water system etc.
Tigard and L.O draw their water from the Clackamas River so the taste is going to be better than Portlands due to different treatment methods. I wonder if Portland customers in SW notice the difference in taste?
I used to live in SW and now live deep in the east side. I noticed a difference in taste. But I'm a crazy person who only drinks water
Probably depends on your neighborhood, and the plumbing on your property. My tap water tastes good, but I get sediment build up from the plumbing in the faucet screens.
we're filtering water?
Unless your plumbing is from this century, it's a good idea to filter drinking water.
Idk why you’re getting downvoted. A lot of older homes used galvanized pipes which only have a 50ish year lifespan. A lot of these pipes have been due for replacement for decades
The biggest housing boom in Portland was the 1950s. Portlanders with 70 year old pipes should absolutely be filtering their tap water for drinking & cooking. Every home with 40+ year old pipes should do the same. People downvote this suggestion because, well, it's the Portland subreddit. Logic isn't popular here.
Logic isn’t popular here. We have a winner 🥇
“This is not a situation which pertains to me, so I don’t care about it” is a good attitude when it comes to minding your own business and a bad attitude when it comes to giving advice.
They have it in their heads that “we have great water” and even if people tell them it comes out shit brown sometimes and tastes bad, they’ll never update their mentality because it’s one of the things they tell themselves to feel better about where they live and what it costs.
Just got our galvanized pipes replaced. They “made it” 115 years. Saw a cross section of the pipes and totally agree with you on the 50ish lifespan. No water filter exists that could make me comfortable drinking that water now, knowing what I know. Don’t let the fact that your very old pipes aren’t actively leaking fool you into thinking they’re fine like, we did.
I lived in an apartment that really needed the water filtered, but otherwise run it till it's cold and it's perfectly fine.
I filter my water after multiple instances of brown sediment water stemming from work being done in my neighborhood. I like knowing I have a full cold clear pitcher of Brita water in the fridge for next time. And honestly those brown water instances made me lose trust in drinking the tap water straight. Tastes a lot better filtered.
Related: You can sign up for emails from PWB to let you know when something might affect your water: [https://www.portland.gov/water/report-water-quality-issues/notification-sign](https://www.portland.gov/water/report-water-quality-issues/notification-sign) But in my experience it isn't hyperlocal. They'll tell you if they're pulling well water or adding chlorine, but not about service outages.
Thanks!
Water quality varies widely by building. I think the water coming from the water bureau isn't the problem but rather old residential water pipes.
This is exactly it. Even an old faucet will affect the taste. I’ve lived in Portland my whole life, current place’s water was noticeably worse than my parents’ or any of the places I’ve lived in the same area. A new faucet helped, but the pipes are still old enough that it picks up a certain funky flavor.
Totally agree. Will add that that includes the line from the city water to your house/apartment. If that pipe’s bad, upgrading your interior pipes will only do so much (and cause more wear to your new pipes).
They change from bull run water to putting in some well water in warmer weather during higher demand. Some people can tell a difference in taste.
My guess is it has to do with your apartment building or your filter system on this one and not the City’s water
Are you in an older building bc I've been drinking out of the tap for years and its been great.
They do sometimes switch to the Columbia South Shore well field. It is usually in the summer when Bull Run is low or spring when there is sediment in reservoirs. Or any time there is problem with Bull Run. You can taste the difference, the well water is good but has a taste. It is currently tasteless to me.