Two reports of West Seattle brown water late today – one from The Junction, one from Admiral. The Junction tipster says the city told them it’s definitely hydrant testing; no incidents on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map, so that may well be the cause in Admiral too. But if it happens to you, please report to SPU – 206-386-1800. (What discolors the water is sediment disturbed in the lines by activity such as hydrant use; it’s primarily rust.)

Two “brown water” reports so far today – one from Karen near 45th/Edmunds on the south side of The Junction, one from Crystal near California/Genesee in the north. No current emergencies mapped so it might be hydrant activity – SFD did have a short-lived gas-leak situation near 40th/Edmunds this morning, and firefighters usually connect to a hydrant precautionarily. Whatever the suspected cause, always report brown water to Seattle Public Utilities, 206-386-1800.

Just got a text reporting brown water in Alki. No Seattle Public Utilities work mapped in West Seattle – either emergency or planned – so it’s likely hydrant testing stirring up sediment (rust) in the lines again. We also have seen SFD doing some of that testing in south Gatewood today, near 35th/Thistle. Even if you’re sure that’s what’s happening with your water, ALWAYS report it to SPU’s 24-hour hotline, 206-386-1800. The discoloration is not toxic but can stain your laundry, so you’ll want to be sure the water runs clear before you wash anything.

Latest brown-water report came in late this afternoon from RB at California/Juneau, just north of Morgan Junction. No incidents so far today on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map, so this too may well have been hydrant testing. As always, we remind you to report water anomalies to SPU 24/7, via 206-386-1800.

Texter reports it’s happening where they are and wonders if anyone else is affected. We keep track of these things because there’s no other publicly viewable record, but be sure to report it to Seattle Public Utilities at 206-386-1800. The cause is usually – but not always – hydrant testing, as SFD recently reiterated here, but sometimes it’s first word of a main break or other problem (nothing on the SPU water-outage map right now, though).

10:02 AM: Thanks for the tips. There’s a power outage in eastern West Seattle – 1,300 customers as shown on the Seattle City Light outage map. Updates to come.

10:35 AM: No info yet on the cause. If you’re in the outage zone and see City Light crews, let us know!

10:50 AM: Highland Park Elementary is out of power, according to email we’ve just received. Louisa Boren STEM K-8 also appears to be in the outage zone but we haven’t heard from anyone there, so we’re checking with the district. (Added: Commenters confirm STEM affected too.)

11:23 AM: City Light map shows the outage resolved. We’re inquiring as to what/where caused it.

1:07 PM: City Light spokesperson Jenn Strang tells us “a branch on a line” near SW Orchard was to blame.

We’ve had two reports of brown water today – Barrie in Admiral reported it late this morning, and Katie west of The Junction just emailed to say, “We’ve got brown water at 45th and Alaska.” We also received one report, with a photo, on Tuesday:

Brian in Gatewood/south Morgan Junction sent that, reporting, “This is like the 4th time this year,” in the 4300 block of SW Frontenac.

The Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map shows an emergency repair last night near 20th/Roxbury, but that’s not close enough to factor into any of the aforementioned reports, so hydrant testing might be the culprit; if it happens to you, always report it to SPU’s hotline, 206-386-1800.

1:08 PM: Jesse emailed to report, “I heard a loud pop from outside my window at Lander and 42nd ave sw about an hour ago. Since then half of our appliances are dim like at half-power.” That would have been around 11 am; since then, Seattle City Light‘s outage map says, 84 customers north of Hiawatha have lost power. “Equipment failure” is blamed.

7:44 PM: As noted in comments, the outage has been resolved. We’ll be asking SCL about the specific cause of this one tomorrow (as well as about the Saturday outage).

Thanks for the reports, first from Michael: “We are experiencing brown water from sinks and toilets in the 63rd Ave and Alki (Avenue) area.” Second, from Pete. who sent a photo: “I just started getting water that is not clear from my tap. I live on 37th Ave SW between Henderson and Barton.”

Most-common cause is hydrant testing, which agitates sediment (rust) in the lines, but if and when it happens at your home/business, please always notify Seattle Public Utilities – the 24/7 hotline is 206-386-1800.

4:05 PM: Thanks for the tips. Brace Point is without electricity again, for the second time in three days – 329 customers lost power last Saturday night/Sunday, and that’s the size of this afternoon’s outage. As updated Monday, the weekend outage was blamed on a failed fuse and transformer; this one also is attributed to “equipment failure” – we’re checking with Seattle City Light on specifics (and still awaiting a requested update on the long-planned project to improve the area’s underground system).

4:18 PM: SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang says they don’t know yet what caused this: “We have dispatched an underground crew to the area to investigate.” The cable-replacement project, meantime, is still a ways off: “City Light continues to work with SDOT and other agencies to complete the permitting process before it can open the bidding process later this summer.” The last in-depth update on the project website was two years ago and details a pandemic-related permitting snafu.

9:18 PM: We weren’t able to check back in the last several hours but resident Nathan tells us the power was restored around 5:45 pm. We’ll follow up again tomorrow to see what went wrong this time.

A Gatewood resident reports “completely brown water coming out of our tap” as of late tonight. No emergencies (or planned work) on the Seattle Public Utilities map. But if you’re in that area, check yours, especially before doing any laundry; if you have discolored water, there or elsewhere, always report it to SPU at 206-386-1800. 24/7.

2:52 PM: Thanks for the tip. While Seattle City Light continued working on the Brace Point outage (as updated here), they’ve suddenly got a huge outage to deal with – mostly from South Park south into White Center and Burien, but part of southeast West Seattle – at the end of the Roxbury corridor – is affected too. Remember that intersections with nonfunctioning traffic signals become all-ways stop.

4:13 PM: Now down to just under 5,000. The north areas, including the West Seattle pocket and White Center, are among those restored. No word yet on the cause.

5:09 PM: Under 3,000 still out.

8:33 PM: Down to under 500, mostly in the Boulevard Park area. The exact cause hasn’t been disclosed yet – “equipment” problem of some kind, SCL says.

12:29 PM MONDAY: We followed up today with SCL spokesperson Jenn Strang, who says, “The exact cause of (this) outage in still under investigation but there is a possibility that it was caused by a bird. The resulting fault caused two lines to wrap together, resulting in the larger impact of the outage.”

9:45 PM: Thanks for the tips. Power’s out for 329 homes in the Brace Point area, according to the Seattle City Light outage map, as of less than half an hour ago. The outage is attributed to “equipment failure”; the area has had multiple outages blamed on underground trouble over the years.

10:51 PM: As noted in a comment below, SCL says the outage is now affecting 169 homes.

2:29 AM: They’re still out.

10:26 AM: This morning 8 customers remain without electricity. We’ll be following up with SCL tomorrow about this outage and the long-planned project to address the area’s chronic problems.

2:27 PM: The outage is back to the original 329 customers, as pointed out below by commenter BP1, who says the SCL crew explained they had to do that for final repairs, which they hope to complete within the next two hours.

5:29 PM: BP1 noted below that the 329 number persisted on the map past when their power was restored; the outage has now entirely vanished from the map, so everyone should be reconnected.

ADDED MONDAY: We asked SCL’s Jenn Strang about the cause: “Due to a failed transformer. The first outage was caused by a fuse but when the area was restored the failed transformer was also found. The subsequent outage was required so that crews could safely access the area to replace the transformer.” We’ll have a separate update when we get the information about the upgrade project’s status.

2:40 PM: Seattle Fire units have arrived in the 7100 block of 29th SW after a report of a broken half-inch gas line. They’re planning to evacuate two houses while awaiting Puget Sound Energy‘s arrival.

2:44 PM: Police just told dispatch they’re blocking southbound traffic at 29th/Myrtle [map].

2:54 PM: Firefighters have just reported that the “gas line has been secured.”

9:36 AM: Via text: “Brown water this morning on 41st SW between Hudson and Dawson.” This is the third report we’ve received this week; though we didn’t get the chance to publish it at the time, a reader notified us about “super brown water” near Gatewood Elementary on Wednesday, and we did publish this report from southeast Admiral on Monday. A leading cause is fire-hydrant testing, but it can also be a clue to system trouble like a pipe break, so always report it to Seattle Public Utilities at 206-386-1800.

4:14 PM: Also just heard from Tricia, reporting: “I have brown water in Gatewood. Southern and California.”

The photo is from William on 37th SW between Hanford and Hinds, who reports: “Just to let you know water has been on and off today for the last few hours, and it’s still quite brown at the moment. Many neighbors experiencing the same.” That’s apparently related to a water outage this morning in the area – we got a text about it last hour, but when we checked the SPU water-trouble map moments later, it was listed as an “emergency repair” situation that had been resolved. We’re following up with SPU.

So far today, we’ve had two brown-water reports – from Garrett in Arbor Heights and Melinda in North Delridge. Again today, no Seattle Public Utilities work mapped in West Seattle – either emergency or planned – so it’s likely hydrant testing stirring up sediment (rust) in the lines again, but if it happens to you, ALWAYS report it to SPU’s 24-hour hotline, 206-386-1800. The discoloration is not toxic but can stain your laundry, so you’ll want to be sure the water runs clear before you resume that.