Brown water pours from Winnipeg mayor's taps

The problem of brown water has literally hit home for Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz.

"Last night [I]came home, my daughter yelled out, 'daddy the water is brown.' So of course I told her to run it for a while. That was the first instance in our home," he said.

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Katz said he's unhappy with the state of the city's water andthinks people who had theirlaundry ruined by brown water should get some money back.

He and other city councillors are talking about trying to change the cityrules or find a way to cover the cost.

So far, the city has turned down at least 52 claims for laundry since the city's water became discoloured. And it's had more than 1,300 complaints.

Katz said that's because of the City of Winnipeg Charter, which statesthe city is not liable for damages caused by the quality or content of waterunless it doesn't meet standards of purity under provincial regulations respecting health.

In other words,the water has to be undrinkable before the city will pay out any claims for damage to laundry.

Both Katz and Coun. Dan Vandalsay the city should change the charter and allow those claims.

If you pay for a service,you have the right to expect clean water, Katz said.

"I think when you have laundry that's spoiled by our water we should reimburse citizens," Vandal said.

Officials still aren't sure what's making the water brown.