Well the brown is probably just rust... if you let it run, it should clear.
I've never been on a city water supply, always wells, I guess I just expected city water supplies would be more filtered and checked, and ~fixed~ when it got like that.
Sometimes they have to really treat the water for bacteria and such...like with chlorine...and then the by-product of the breakdown of the chlorine can be in excess of what is allowed and that is a known carcinogen. OT and OB probably know what that stuff is called...I can't remember off the top of my head.
So getting the letter in the mail saying they've failed the standard for that test is not something I like to get.
I'm sure the brown is just rust and the black is just old pipe sediment...but still...I don't wanna drink it! Heh heh!
Here at the bach pad my city water is barely drinkable. It's got rust in it and is very brown at first, most likely from the pipes in the apartment complex. It'll clear up if you let it run, but it never does taste quite right. Maybe the basic problem is that it ~has~ flavor... and shouldn't... :-)
I drink bottled water here, and I've got one of those 5-gal water bottles, and every couple of weeks I fill it up down at home. I use that for making coffee.