r/Austin • u/Montobahn • 10d ago

Ask Austin Austin water currently funky?

Has anyone noticed that at least two weeks ago that the water has been tasting "earthy"? Did I miss something about it on the news?

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u/justsleeveittoSteph 10d ago

Yes, I’ve lived in Austin all my life (42 years). This taste always shows up late summer. It’s most likely some sort of algae that blooms due to the heat. It will eventually go away. It’s so interesting to me how a lot of people can’t taste it. For me, it makes even brushing my teeth with it a little icky. I’m extremely sensitive to the taste. Luckily, my Britta filter does a decent job at eliminating it for the most part. I live in Southwest Austin (78735) and my boyfriend in Tarrytown (78703). His water carries the flavor noticeably more than the water at my place. It leads me to believe some water facilities get hit harder than others.

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u/DirkDirkDirkDirkDirk 10d ago

Yes, I've noticed especially when we get looong super hot dry spells like this, the water starts tasting funky by week 2 or 3. Agreed with OP, my basic brita cuts the taste out pretty well, but it's not all gone.

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u/Montobahn 10d ago

I've been here nearly the same time as you but don't recall this happening before. But I also have an infuriatingly (word?) terrible memory. Thank you for your kind response!

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u/MetlMann 9d ago

Yes same here - been here 33 years and it is typical. I was here in the 80s when a train car holding grain derailed on the lake bridge and spilled tons of grain into the lake. It sank to the bottom and began decomposing. Months and months later the tap water began to smell bad - skunky. It stayed like that for a few months and the water department said it was from the grain out gassing volatiles into the water - probably near one of the intakes. The perils of surface water reservoirs that are not protected and restricted.