Residents in parts of the eastern Texas Panhandle and surrounding area are reporting discolored tap water, prompting City of Quanah officials to address concerns Wednesday morning and point to the regional water supply as the source of the problem.
Quanah officials said in a social media notice that the city is “aware of concerns regarding the current discoloration of the water supply,” citing a photo provided by a Donley County resident. Reports of discoloration have surfaced around Hardeman County and neighboring areas, including Donley and Childress counties.
For Quanah residents experiencing the problem, city officials stressed that the discoloration is not originating in the municipal water system.
“We want to make it clear that this discoloration is not originating within the City of Quanah’s water system,” officials said. “The water is arriving in Quanah from the Greenbelt Municipal & Industrial Water Authority in this condition.”
That distinction also means the city cannot simply flush its water lines to clear up the problem.
“Because the discoloration is present at the point the water enters Quanah’s system, flushing City water lines will not resolve the issue at this time,” officials said. “City crews cannot flush out discoloration that continues to enter the system from the water source.”
Officials reiterated that the discoloration is not the result of Quanah’s water lines or distribution system, describing it instead as “an issue with the water being supplied to the City by Greenbelt.”
The Greenbelt Municipal & Industrial Water Authority serves several communities in the region, including Clarendon, Childress, Crowell, Hedley and Quanah, making problems involving the regional supply potentially significant beyond any single city.
The reports also come against the backdrop of years of declining water supplies at Greenbelt Lake.
The reservoir reached an all-time low after an extended decline that pushed it below 10% of its storage capacity during the summer of 2025. Those conditions contributed to Clarendon entering Stage 4 Emergency Water Shortage Conditions in April 2025, while other Greenbelt communities, including Childress and Quanah, have also faced significant water restrictions.
However, Quanah’s Wednesday notice did not identify the cause of the current discoloration or directly connect it to Greenbelt Lake’s historically low water level.
