Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => The Environment => Topic started by: thedoc on 15/08/2012 14:36:07

Title: Why is some water turning brown?
Post by: thedoc on 15/08/2012 14:36:07

If you’ve ever turned on a tap for a glass of cool clear water and watched brown water coming out instead, then you’ll know that it’s less than appealing. Although it can still be safe to drink, brown water is a problem in parts of Scotland and where there are private water supplies.  Susan Waldron from the University of Glasgow is looking into why this is happening…and Planet Earth podcast presenter Sue Nelson went to meet her in the university’s water and sediment lab to find out more…
Read a transcript of the interview by clicking here (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/2205/)

or [chapter podcast=4055 track=12.08.12/Naked_Scientists_Show_12.08.12_10595.mp3](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenakedscientists.com%2FHTML%2Ftypo3conf%2Fext%2Fnaksci_podcast%2Fgnome-settings-sound.gif&hash=f2b0d108dc173aeaa367f8db2e2171bd) Listen to it now[/chapter] or [download as MP3] (http://nakeddiscovery.com/downloads/split_individual/12.08.12/Naked_Scientists_Show_12.08.12_10595.mp3)

Title: Re: Why is some water turning brown?
Post by: CliffordK on 15/08/2012 15:03:27

Interesting notes about dissolved organic matter (carbon).

I would think that another risk is that if there are iron and steel pipes, then sitting a few days can also cause an accumulation of rust which can also be unappealing.