WINNIPEGGERS agree -- their tap water smells and tastes lousy. And it might continue to make people grimace until late 2007, when a new water treatment plant opens. It's normal to hear complaints about Winnipeg tap water in late summer, but the problem could last longer this year, say city officials. Algae blooms in Shoal Lake, from which Winnipeg gets its water, could cause a musty taste and smell to last until late fall. "It tastes like fungus," griped Yvette Philippot, a 44-year-old esthetician. Yesterday, the Free Press went to The Forks and offered a taste test to passersby, who sipped unmarked cups of bottled spring water and Winnipeg tap water. Most identified the tap water immediately. "It's like swamp water, really swampy," said Trisha Allan, 31. "You can smell it, and it has the flavour of weeds," Allan said, while her young son beside her winced, and refused to take a gulp. Even a biologist joined Allan in shuddering at the taste. "I think it's pretty gross myself," said Hedy Kling, an expert in algae, who yesterday studied samples collected from around Winnipeg. Kling, while no fan of the taste, said she didn't fear effects on her health from drinking it. "There's a lot of different types of algae I found that could be causing taste and smell problems, but they're not going to harm anybody," she said. City officials said there's hope on the horizon when a new water treatment facility is opened at the Deacon Reservoir, located in the RM of Springfield, in roughly two years. "Taste and odour is more of an art than a science when it comes to drinking water," said Kelly Kjartanson, manager of the city's environmental standards division. "People complain when things look and smell and taste bad... but the dangerous things are the silent ones." The city tests water samples regularly, particularly in the summer because algae growth increases in warmer weather, Kjartanson said. The more advanced water treatment centre will filter more compounds produced by algae out of drinking water, he said, although he noted it's not the reason the new centre is being built. "The organic substances produced by algae started to go to amounts customers might notice early in July, and have stayed relatively high since then," he said. Kjartanson noted the department had received as many as 12 complaints per day for the past few weeks, instead of the regular two or three daily telephone calls. Complaints like Jayce Cameron's were common -- the 22-year-old shook his head as he slugged back a gulp of tap water yesterday, and then said he preferred the cup of unmarked bottled water provided. "This has a flavour, and if I wanted to drink something with a strong flavour, I'd buy orange juice or pop," he said, handing the tap water back. Then there was Kim Stelmack, who grimaced as she tried a taste of the tap water. "It tastes like chalk," she said. "It's got a bitter taste, and I wouldn't want to drink it," she said. Some visitors had even stronger words. "Ugh, it tastes dead, this water tastes dead. It has no life, and I think it's disgusting," said 44-year-old Ron Philippot, who asked if he could throw it away. Kling said such observations were not unusual. "It only takes a tiny little bit (of algae) for us to be able to taste it," said Kling. Not everybody was complaining, though, as some bottled water businesses said they see an upswing in autumn. "We always get people complaining about the water in August, September, October," said Pauline Robinson, owner of Healthsmart Nutrition. "They'll be drinking water from somewhere else, like the lake, and they come back and taste it (tap water), and they want something else." Kling explained algae in water releases volatile compounds when it is treated with chlorine, causing taste and smell to seem off. She suggested treating tap water with a water filter, changing the charcoal filter regularly, and turning on water taps every so often to keep tanks moving will make the water smell and taste better.
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