An investigation is currently underway for reports of foul-smelling water in the homes of Westlock town residents.
On July 6, residents took to Facebook to discuss the sudden “mouldy” smell coming from their water sources, including taps, hoses and showers.
Robin Benoit, the director of operations for the Town of Westlock they have sent the samples to Ottawa to be studied further but that the water is currently in healthy condition.
“It’s well within Alberta’s environment parameters. So it’s safe. It just has a taste and an odour at this point, but there’s nothing wrong with the water other than that," he said.
Benoit said that they received two calls about the reported condition of the water. The town sent out workers to test the water at the first home. The workers confirmed that the taste and odour were coming from the home's hot water tank, which needed to be flushed. No information was given regarding the second case, but Benoit stated that they are in two separate areas of the town.
This is a common occurrence that happens around this time of year said Benoit and added it can be chalked up to the drought conditions.
“What ends up happening is when it’s really dry like this and hot, you get algae issues," Benoit said.
He reports that no blue-green algae is in the raw water ponds and that two of the three are aerated.
“We treat our raw water ponds for algae but that being said there are things in the environment that you just can’t remove when it comes to water. They’re harmless but they do impact the taste.” Benoit said.
Another reason something like this happened could have been because of the large amount of water used on Canada Day by the fire department to make the pop-up spray park by Westlock Elementary.
“They take a large amount of water out of a system, they draw from the dead ends in the system and that’s where some stagnant water might be," Benoit said.
However, discoloration is usually a sign of this happening, something that has not been reported.
The Westlock Water Treatment Plant goes through an extensive investigation to ensure the water is safe to use. This includes starting with raw water testing and then working their way through the treatment process and eventually to the homes themselves.
“We try to eliminate every possible source so that we know what to deal with.”
Deb Hamilton, president of the Westlock Regional Water Services Commission, said if residents have an issue, phone the municipality as soon as possible so they can investigate.
Benoit mirrored the sentiment, saying that the reports seem to be isolated and sporadic around town.
“I just ask if people let the town know if they are experiencing the problem, they can go through our website," he said.
A service request portal is live where residents can provide their information and problems and the town will have someone dispatched to investigate.
