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Catharine Richert
Rochester, Minn.

Dark-colored water coming from taps at a Mayo Clinic hospital

Mayo construction
A crane sits on the roof of Mayo Clinic's Saint Marys Hospital during its expansion Thursday, June 14, 2012.
Alex Kolyer for MPR

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Updated May 2, 9:13 a.m. | Posted May 1, 10:54 a.m.

The Mayo Clinic is investigating mysterious instances of dark-colored tap water coming out of taps at its sprawling St. Marys hospital.

Patients and staff at the St. Marys Campus are being asked to stop drinking tap water or using ice from the ice machines.

Bottled water is being handed out to all patients and staff working there.

"Water is running clear in some areas, following a flush of the water system, however, further testing and system flushing continue, and extra chlorine has been added to the water supply as a precautionary measure," Mayo Clinic said in a statement late Tuesday night.

The statement also said that while the water is suitable for hand washing, it should be followed by using hand sanitizer, which are being placed in bathrooms as a precautionary measure across the hospital.

The situation is contained to the St. Marys Campus, which is a massive inpatient facility on the southwest side of Rochester.

Earlier Tuesday, Rochester Public Utilities said it was confident the issue was isolated to the St. Marys campus and that the city's water is safe to drink. The utility said as a precautionary measure it flushed the areas surrounding the campus and "found no discolored water."