Bottled water delivery companies all around Houston likely had a pretty busy stretch during the final week of June after numerous residents discovered that their tap water both smelled and tasted horrible. More on this story in this excerpt from Bobby Blanchard’s article on the Houston Chronicle:
“Houston residents have flooded the city’s service request line with complaints about tap water tasting like dirt, and while the city says the water is still safe to drink, many people are opting for bottled water. “
The way Houstonites responded is pretty much a no-brainer. Since June 20th, more than 200 complaints reached the city’s 311 service request line. Most of the calls were reportedly concentrated in the Heights area, as well as Westbury and surrounding neighborhoods where several people noticed that their tap water turned gray and smelled musty. Around fifteen percent of all the complaints came from the Heights area alone, which is more than any other area in the city.
Homeowner Paul Nylund is one of the affected individuals, who went to get a glass of water through his home’s water filter and noticed that the content of the glass was quite cloudy and difficult to see through. Galleria-area denizen Susan Hughart wasn’t spared either, describing the water as tasting like algae and also smelling like such.
It was only a matter of time when authorities released a statement during the wee hours of June 23rd. On that day, public works department spokesperson Gary Norman assured residents that while the water looked and smelled bad, it’s still safe to consume and meets all related national and state standards. Norman’s statement also furthered that the change is a direct result of the increased levels of a naturally occurring compound in Houston’s upstream surface water supplies, which is known to emit earthy or musty tastes and odors. Essentially, the city attributes the nuisance to seasonal algae blooms.
Water sources all around the U.S. aren’t exactly safe either, what with a lot of potential contaminants (both naturally occurring and man-made) able to find their way into reservoirs at any time. This is why companies like American Pure Spring Water–thanks to their ample healthy drinking water supply on standby–are the likely first lines of defense and initial solutions against tap water contamination or related issues.
(Source: Houston Flooded with Complaints about Smelly Water, Houston Chronicle, June 24, 2014)
