Drinking water in Wilmington, Delaware, has an “earthy” odor and taste due to algal growth but is still safe for residents to drink, officials said.
City residents have reported an “earthy” smell and taste in the drinking water due to recent weather conditions that have been ideal for algal growth in their source water, a spokesperson with Wilmington Water said.
While officials acknowledged the odor and taste issues, they also insisted the water remains safe to drink.
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“The water remains safe to drink because our treatment plants remove the algae, and the City operates a significant water quality monitoring program to ensure federal and state water quality standards are always met,” a Wilmington Water spokesperson wrote. “Despite treatment, taste and odor issues can remain in the treated water, and the nose is particularly sensitive to this kind of odor.”
The spokesperson said Wilmington officials are taking additional steps to address the taste and odor issues. The spokesperson also said they completed an engineering analysis that evaluated additional treatment technologies and recommended adding an enhanced capability to address those issues.
The spokesperson also noted the current odor and taste issues will likely remain “at some level” until weather conditions improve and the ability for algae to grow in the city’s source water is reduced.
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Officials said residents can reduce the drinking water’s earthy taste and odor by pouring it into a pitcher and refrigerating it overnight.
“We apologize for the inconvenience,” the spokesperson wrote. “While the weather conditions creating the algal issues cannot be prevented, we will continue to explore long-term solutions.”
For more information on Wilmington’s drinking water, call the city’s Water Quality Laboratory at 302-571-4168 or email them at waterqualitylab@wilmingtonde.gov.
