If you live and Grand Forks and are wondering why your water tastes or smells a little funny, don't worry: It's perfectly safe.
Heavy rains -- two to four inches in the last week locally, with some areas in the Red River Valley getting upwards of six inches -- have stirred up a pair of organic chemical compounds that affect taste and odor in water.
"The rain just caught us off guard," said Hazel Sletten, superintendent of water treatment in Grand Forks. "It's something that we have to react to, and sometimes we can catch it perfectly. But sometimes we just miss it."
She said despite an earthy taste and slight odor, she said the water is still safe to drink.
"There are no health concerns with those chemicals or our treatments," Sletten said.
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She said it will take three to four days for the treatment to work its way through the full water treatment cycle.
The compounds, geosmin and methylisoborneol, typically affect drinking water taste and odor in the spring, when snowmelt enters the river and kicks up decaying vegetation on the bottom of the river. Heavy rains are also known to disturb the vegetation.
Call Jeffries at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1105; or send email to rjeffries@gfherald.com .
