The water flow on this is the same as the flow I had on my stand alone water cooler so I would say the water flow is normal. I did not experience any charcoal particles in the water or ice but we ran and dumped about three gallons of water and three buckets of ice before consuming on the recommendation of the Best Buy delivery man. I have not seen any leak from the filter seal but again my filter was installed by the delivery man who also told me to make sure it is inserted properly when I replace. I have only owned this fridge for 1 1/2 months and have not experienced any problems but I did purchase the 5yr extended warranty just to be safe as I was replacing a large stainless steel fridge that we had for 16 years and my appliance repair man warned me not to spend too much on a new fridge as the newer ones are not made to last.