WESTLOCK — Residents in certain areas of Westlock continue to experience funky-smelling and strange-tasting water— a problem that has persisted for a few months. While the water is deemed safe to drink, some locals have opted for bottled water for drinking and cooking, due to concerns over the unpleasant odour and taste.
As of now, hopefully the issue is almost fixed, said Robin Benoit, director of operations for the Town of Westlock, adding that residents who are experiencing the worst lingering ‘funky’ water symptoms are located in the Aspendale and Eastglen neighbourhoods. Of course, due to the natural flow of water, this can change as the stale water filters through the system.
The issue was first reported last October, which town officials initially said to be linked to drought conditions from last year, causing reduced water levels and sediment build-up in the town's primary water source, the Pembina River. This is not uncommon in Westlock during seasonal changes.
However, when the issue persisted, the town answered by performing an initial flushing of the water network. When that still didn’t fix it, a deeper investigation was launched, and it was found that access to a singular water valve was opened in a new, under-construction subdivision. This caused treated and stagnant water to be released into the water system. The fix? A full flush of the town and neighbouring hamlet’s water supply.
Benoit said that this level of flush is a challenge to their system, given the sheer magnitude of the infrastructure.
“There are 46 kilometres of pipeline underground, and then there's lots of dead ends, tricky sections and loops,” Benoit adds. “So, when we flush, we're pulling water in different directions. Trying to pull within the flow has been the challenge to get it through our system.”
“When we first encountered this issue, we didn't realize how long it was going to take.” Many unforeseen hurdles have exacerbated this unknown timeline.
During all this, the municipality had responded by executing two times the required amount of testing. Benoit emphasizes the importance of using randomized testing, “We keep it random because we don't want to get into a pattern, we just want to make sure that we're covering the entire system.”
Although the tests show no harmful contaminants and fall well within the provincial health standards for safe drinking water, the smell and taste is no laughing matter.
The town continues to advise the public that the water meets health standards but acknowledges the ongoing frustration. Benoit urges residents who have an issue, complaint, or report of odd-tasting or smelling water, to submit a service request on the town’s website.
These service requests are how the town knows which neighbourhoods to prioritize— those getting the most complaints. Benoit stresses that service requests are by far the most effective— as opposed to calls, voicemails or social media posts— and help the team stay efficient as they focus on fixing the issue.
