CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- Charlestown residents say since the city isn't listening to them, they decided to voice their concerns together at a meeting Wednesday night.
Josh Neely shared a video of running the water at his home. It's clear, then turns brown as he fills up a water bottle. The city says the discolored water is from manganese build-up in the water lines, and it's safe to drink. Residents say they're not taking any chances, settling instead for bottled water.
"The water has been brown off and on for some time now," Neely said, adding that he has pictures of his bathtub full of dirty water that left a sediment. He called the city and never got a call back. "I feel like they don't care. They've got a lot of excuses. They don't want to do anything about it."
David Abbott, who organized the meeting, said he plans to run for mayor next year. He can't officially file until February 2018, but he said a key part of his campaign will be fixing the water problems.
"I go places, and they say 'Where are you from? Charlestown? You've got the dirty water,'" Abbott said. "We're known for the dirty water.
"Are we turning into a Flint, Michigan? We're drinking the water."
Tina Brock has a farm, and when she gets water for her animals, she said it's brown all the time.
"It's as brown as it is today and is was October 5th. One thing I had to do was put a filter at the house."
Indiana American Water had plans to buy Charlestown Water, but that sale is on hold after it was challenged in court.
John Spencer, the city of Charlestown spokesman issued this statement:
"We continue to anticipate the conclusion of the lawsuit and expect approval of the sale. We are ready for Indiana American to begin making improvements when the sale is complete."
"I'm not here to block progress," said Darlene Williams, a Charlestown resident. "I'm not here to block clean water. I know for a fact we can do it better, cheaper and faster."
Some residents say the city needs to come up with a solution that doesn't involve selling the water, and the brown water needs to be fixed immediately.
Abbott is also mailing a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb, hoping he comes to Charlestown to help fix the water issue.
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