STRANGE TASTE IN SOME LOCAL WATER NOTED

Over the past few days, a few Athens Utilities customers have called in saying their water has a funny taste to it.  Etowah Utilities recently put out a news release about the same issue.

“This taste that some sense in the water is apparently due to Hiwassee River water, which supplies AUB some of the treated water that is distributed on our system,” said AUB’s Wayne Scarbrough.

“This is not a new issue by any means.  There is not a problem with the water from a health standpoint in any way.  But there is, for some, a strange ‘earthy’ taste,” he said.

This taste is apparently the result of seasonal changes in the Hiwassee River or in the lake that feeds it. 

“The seasonal changes can include algae growth or simple water turnover, as colder water falls and warmer water rises, which can bring on the strange taste some people sense and some don’t,” he said.

“That is what we’ve been seeing on our water system, particularly with customers who live closer to the pipe that transports treated water to Athens from the Hiwassee Utilities Commission (HUC), which gets its water from the river.  But some customers who live on the same road taste nothing,” Scarbrough said.

“We’ve seen the same thing at AUB.  We have had several people to taste water that we have collected from different points on the system.  Some taste a little something while others sense no difference in the current water and water from their past experience,” Scarbrough said.

The water that comes to Athens Utilities from HUC is perfectly safe to drink, even if you do sense that slight ‘earthy’ taste.  The water has been fully treated and tested by HUC and meets all safe drinking water standards.

“We feel certain that this odd taste some can sense in their water will go away soon with the seasonal change and the flow of the Hiwassee River getting back to normal,” Scarbrough said.

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