In Whitted, Florida, an unincorporated historically Black community, an 81-year-old resident named Ann Jones experiences tap water that is not reliably clean. She says the water from her kitchen faucet runs clear only some of the time; at other times, it is brown.
When Jones fills a pitcher, the water takes on the color of iced tea. The discoloration is a visible sign of the water quality problems that persist in this community, which has been historically underserved.
The report from Inside Climate News focuses on Jones's experience as an illustration of broader environmental challenges. While the excerpt does not identify a specific cause or contaminant, the brown water points to a failure to provide safe drinking water in a community that has long been overlooked.