Note: This story may be updated
There’s a Woodstock moment where people are warned to not try the “brown acid.”
Thursday night during Day 1 of Firefly Music Festival’s four-day weekend, some campers were experiencing brown water in The Woodlands of Dover.
Firefly made an announcement on Twitter at 1:04 p.m., Friday that the problem has been resolved.
“We have confirmation from the City of Dover that water is all clear,” the festival tweeted. “Refill stations are back up & running on site! We appreciate your patience & look forward to having a beautiful Day 2 in The Woodlands.”
The City of Dover addressed released multiple statements about the brown water on its Facebook page. The latest post was made just before noon on Friday.
“Sometimes we experience brown water due to our aging infrastructure, however after flushing the hydrants it clears the lines,” the statement said.
“We did this last night (Thursday night). We do test our water regularly and although when we experience any discoloration it is not appealing, the city system has always met the state and federal requirements. If you experience brown water at your home, run your cold water faucet till it runs clear.”
A number of people vented about this issue in comments to the City of Dover after its first post on Thursday.
“We have brown water at work all the time and people in Dover have to pay for it,” one commenter wrote.
“During Woodstock, we were warned about the ‘brown acid’; during Firefly, the warning is about ‘brown water’,” another person wrote.
“Unacceptable to me. Who wants to run water longer, when the rates are threw the roof now. Since we pay for water. Ugh,” a disgruntled person said.
“This morning, my water is clear again. The gentleman on the phone last night was very kind and informative. Thank you, City of Dover!” one happy customer wrote.
This isn’t the first time that festivalgoers at Firefly experienced water controversy.
In 2018, as Firefly launched, The News Journal / Delaware Online reported that bacteria was detected earlier that week in the water coming from a handful of water refill stations in The Woodlands.
But Delaware health officials said there was a “very low” risk to public health.
In the week leading up to Firefly 2018, multiple samples from four water stations connected to a single well tested positive for total coliform, which includes a variety of bacteria used to indicate the presence of potentially harmful pathogens.
“Total coliform alone does not cause illness,” a Division of Public Health spokesperson said at that time.
Rain early Thursday afternoon threatened to put a damper on opening day of this year’s Firefly, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the festival.
But the showers stopped close to when the festival gates opened around 3 p.m. Thursday’s headliner was singer Halsey, who rocked a hyped crowd.
Headlining Friday is the rock outfit My Chemical Romance, followed by rockers Green Day on Saturday, capped off by singer Dua Lipa on Sunday.
The afternoon rain on Friday made the festival grounds a bit muddy. But it didn’t deter Firefly fans.
Firefly Music Festival will be held in The Woodlands (599 Persimmon Tree Lane, Dover) from Friday to Sunday.
For more information, visit fireflyfestival.com.
Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.
More Firefly stories
Firefly 2022 debut:Rain didn’t stop fans from having a sunny time in Dover
Meet Firefly’s youngest artist: DJ Sophia Rocks, 14, and she’s from Dover
Firefly top 10 shows: Since the festival took flight in 2012
Firefly icon Sobear is a teddy: And a symbol of hope
Firefly is a ‘playground’: Fans share 10 years of favorite memories
Firefly 2022 adds set times: Fans must flip coins over schedule conflicts with headliners
