Of all the neighborhoods of New York, this HAD to happen in the East Village. Where else?

"Of all the neighborhoods of New York, this HAD to happen in the East Village. Where else?"
- Rubin

Yeah, like the East Village is so ghetto.

I am secretly smiling inside at the thought of yuppies, frat boys, and wannabe Carries from the Midwest - who delusionally think that they're real New Yorkers - waking up to the smell of fecal matter and urine. This type of stuff should happen more often.

Simple chemistry and physics - nothing more... and taking the ignorance out of NYC class warfare - from a water supply perspective anyway...

While not present and unable to sample the odor, the channeled runoff reminds me far more of scaling (e.g., iron and manganese build-up in the water pipes) then any type of fecal matter or urine. Over time, the natural rusting process, along with chemical deposition associated with the water itself or its treatment, fills the inside diameter of the water pipe. To limit these ever-growing obstructions, the pipes are periodically purged to remove most of the scaling and deposition.

This is accomplished by opening fire hydrants (usually successively), which are also connected to the muncipal water supply system and under pressure (on average this pressure is about 45 pounds - of water - per square inch or psi in most communities). Look closely and you'll see that the fire hydrant's operating nut (a phrase that should be adapted to humans) has been opened by your friendly, municipal water system worker (image right).

The rapid change in water pressure (upon opening the operating nut) causes a disturnbance of the scaling and deposition via fluxing tidal pressures, resulting in these materials becoming suspended and/or soluable within the water once again. Following the path of least resistance (okay, okay - it's closer to Linear Dynamics 101 because of the channeled flow, but I digress...), these materials travel from the area of high pressure (inside the water pipe @ 45 psi) to an area of low pressure (outside the pipe and into the street @ about 14.7 psi at sea level). The resulting runoff is usually colored red/brown, reflecting the rusts of the scaling.

This is standard operating procedure for any municipal water supply system. While unseemly in color (and maybe taste), this water is safe for potable uses (although clothing washed with the discolored water may become stained). Oh, and best of all, both rich and poor sections of the city or town that are connected to the municipal water supply system are flushed in the same way! A surprise, I know, but true all the same!

"And now you know... the rest of the story! Good day!"

Well if that's the case, I hope a homeless guy takes a dump and/or piss in that rust water then.

Yes, of course, Wing! Another fine example of humanity's continuing compassion.

And I wonder why we (in the global NOT American sense) libel, wound, and kill each other over the littlest (and silliest) of reasons... You worhsip Allah, I worship God. You work in the southern part of the country, I work in the northern. You live in the Bronx, I live in the East Village.

In a word - pathetic... We (as a species) deserve the results of our lack of labor, if such is the response...

"Cry me a River" Justin Timberlake

Plus, Mr. Darcy is correct, thats just rust from the pipes. This time of year, they open the fire hydrants (Notice the dude with the wrench) and let the water flow. Not quite the parting of the red sea or the parting of the homeless' butt cheeks, but it is kindof fun to watch.

Mr. Darcy: Your post confounds me, especially the last sentence. You may be taking what I wrote a little too seriously.

Or maybe it is you, wing, who didn't write seriously enough... But if even if this is merely rust: does rust from the sewers smell any better that what we thought it was?
The East Village smells like cr... anyway...