BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. () — Residents of Beaufort County may have experienced a brown discoloration in their water over the weekend that was due to manganese, a Beaufort Jasper Water Sewer Authority (BJWSA) spokesperson said.

The manganese found its way into the water of some residents ranging from Sun City to Hilton Head Island. The cause was determined to be the cycling of a new high service pump at the Purrysburg water treatment plant that led to repeated pressure surges which stirred up the deposited manganese.

While the water is technically still safe to consume and use, it is not recommended due to the bitter taste and chance of the brown water causing stains.

While the BJWSA apologized to its customers, it said it is a common issue for areas whose water is sourced from rivers and may happen again. Some of the causes the BJWSA said are changes in water pressure, velocity or direction.

However, the BJWSA said it has a four-point approach that it believes can limit future incidents:

1. Optimizing the treatment processes at the plants to limit the collection of manganese.
2. Stabilizing pressure, which the nearly completed 1.5-million-gallon water tower in Bluffton will assist with.
3. Increasing the treated water supply capacity at the Purrysburg plant from 15 million to 30 million gallons per day. This is reportedly set to be complete in the fall.
4. Flushing water mains in areas with the most frequent issues.

Andrew Davis contributed to this article.