School students in Detroit find filthy rust-colored water

Students at a local high school disgusted -- after seeing filthy, rust-colored water in the sinks, fountains and toilets.

Ashley Lewandowski lives in the area of Military and Buchanan in Detroit and she says for the past three days she and her family have been dealing with filthy water.

"When you flush the toilet it comes down rusty, like rusty water," she said.

And she's not alone. A school official for these two nearby charter schools say earlier this week the staff noticed a brown tint to the water inside the school. 

A concerned viewer provided these pictures to Fox 2 of a toilet inside the school’s building

"We also brought in hand sanitizer," said Rod Atkins, Voyageur Academy School District. "So the bathrooms are usable. We want to make sure want our children or staff aren't using the water."

School officials say they've been in contact with the city and they notified parents of the issue to let them know that they are making adjustments

"We made a decision to have lunches prepared off-site cause we did not want to use the water inside," Atkins said.

Right across the street from the school is a running hydrant, surrounded by barricades provided by the city and if you look closely there appears to be rusty residue on the grass and sidewalk.

Fox 2 contacted city officials and were told:

"As a part of the Great Lakes Water Authority's ongoing maintenance program, the Authority was opening valves in its system near Military and Buchanan. As normally occurs when this action takes place, it caused a temporary discoloration of the water."

Class was not in session at the charter schools on Friday because of a Professional Development Day. But school officials say they will continue to use bottled water and take necessary precautions.

"We're going to make sure no one is drinking it until water department tells us it's good to go." Atkins said.