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Glass of water, documents and laptop on a wooden table

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Here’s a horrible way to start off the #Blizzard2K16.

Washington Heights, NYC residents flocked to Twitter on Friday to express disdain and frustration as soiled, brown and unsafe water found its way into their homes.

As reported by NY1 News, the city is reassuring locals that they are safe but not totally in the clear. New York City Councilman Mark Levine says that a factor in the tainted water might be back flow of pipes.

“There was some back flow, which led to sediment entering the water system,” Levine said. “Brown water’s been coming out of homes 155th Street North all afternoon and evening. It’s starting to get lighter. DEP assures us it’s safe, but I’ll show you what the water looks like in my apartment. At this point, it’s a light brown. It was much darker a few hours ago. I don’t think anyone would want to drink this.”

What makes the brown water flowing through NYC’s pipe system even more disturbing is the strong comparison it’s receiving to the crisis in Flint, Michigan.

The city that lies 68 miles north of Detroit has been supplying its 100,000 residents with lead contaminated water for almost two years. On Jan. 16, President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for the city, but the irreparable health damage caused by the exposure to corrosive elements and E. Coli is a national shame.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s resignation is being called for by residents and released records from the Environmental Protection Agency and independent studies are now being reviewed.

But what makes this whole mishap in upper Manhattan all the more aggregating is that the water supply was already low due to the impending snow storm. And with public health seemingly something residents have to fight for at times, the stress levels are likely very high.

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Is Washington Heights The Next Flint, Michigan? Residents Claim Discolored Tap Water  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com