The Medford Water Commission is having trouble with its ozone system, which is making the local tap water a little stinky
Kit Schneider is stocking up on bottled water because of the stinky water coming out of the local taps. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune]
Kit Schneider tries to drink tap water in a Central Point Retirement Community community room Wednesday. The Medford Water Commission says problems with its ozone system are causing an unpleasant odor in the water.
Foul water coming out of local faucets has drawn a steady stream of complaints to the Medford Water Commission in recent days.
Comments on numerous local social media sites have compared the stinky water to algae, dead fish, or worse. One resident thought there was an algae bloom on his bathroom walls, while another joked about the water and sewer pipes…melting.
Medford Water Commission officials said they are aware of the added flavoring, but the supplies are tested regularly and are definitely safe to drink, they stressed.
Most Medford Water Commission customers are aware of an annual change in the smell of their tap water, which usually begins in late spring when supplies from Big Butte Spring are replenished with water of the Rogue River.
But a supply chain problem this year led to delays in repairs to an ozone system that greatly improves the taste and smell of municipal water.
Central Point resident Kit Schneider said she was forced to stock up on bottled water this week after she noticed a particularly unpleasant odor coming from her faucets.
“I noticed it six days ago. The first day, I thought I must be going crazy because I thought I smelled really bad,” she said.
“The next day, I couldn’t even drink my coffee. I drink water throughout the day, plus a cup of coffee in the morning and a rare glass of tea in the afternoon. I use a Brita because I don’t like buying bottled water anymore, but I couldn’t even drink it from the Brita.”
Schneider said the stench of water is a hot topic in the NextDoor app he uses to monitor neighborhood safety.
“There have been over 100 posts on the NextDoor app in the last three days. People are definitely talking about it. Some people are saying it smells like sewage coming out of their faucets,” he noted.
“I just bought 32 bottles of water to help me get by, but I live in a retirement home and I know for a fact that many of my neighbors can’t afford it or don’t have a car to go and bottle water.”
Hazel Powell, who lives in North Medford, said the smell coming from her faucets started three weeks ago, but got worse last week.
“I started smelling an algae smell when I was giving my daughter a shower and thought maybe there was mold in the tub. There wasn’t. Then I realized it tasted weird. I thought maybe it was just me since I’d had COVID. I thought my sense of taste was off,” Powell said.
“About a week later, I kept smelling it, so I asked some friends. They were like, ‘Now that you mention it, yes.'”
Although water commission officials have assured her the water is “safe to drink,” Powell said neither she nor her daughter can bring themselves to drink it.
“It tastes and smells horribly disgusting, even through my Brita pitcher!” she said
“I have the supply chain problem and I’m sure they’ll fix it, but I won’t drink it as long as it tastes like pond water.”
Ben Klayman, manager of water quality and treatment for the Medford Water Commission, sympathized with water customers and said he hoped to see the ozone system up and running as soon as possible.
Klayman said water officials are in the midst of making a series of improvements to the Duff water treatment plant, but have faced delays amid supply chain issues. The ozone system, which makes the water taste and smell better, was expected to be upgraded before summer arrived. Klayman could not estimate how soon the system would be brought back online.
“The slight odor change is something that would happen every year to some degree. Most years, people wouldn’t notice it because we have our ozone treatment system, which is designed to eliminate those tastes and odors.” , Klayman said.
“This year is definitely a little different. We’re working to repair that (ozonation) system, but we’re facing unexpected delays.”
Klayman said the smell comes from natural processes that occur in the river due to the presence of algae and decaying leaves. He encouraged flushing the pipes before drinking.
“Some people are definitely more sensitive to it than others, and it’s affected by the way water travels through people’s pipes. Water can get hot, especially if it goes through a water heater, the which makes the smell even more noticeable,” he said.
“The best thing anyone can do is make sure they have fresh water for drinking and cooking. If the water hasn’t run for a few hours, or early in the morning, let it run for a few minutes. They can collect the water for watering plants or other uses, but we definitely recommend just drinking cold tap water and letting it run before collecting it for drinking.”
Filling a pitcher to keep in the fridge, Klayman added, will help even more. He added: “The colder the better.”
Klayman said improvements to the water treatment plant would ensure a resilient system for decades to come.
“I wish we could do something more about the smell and the taste right now, but really what we can do is put all our energy into replacing it as best we can and solving this supply chain problem.” , he said. .
“This year we celebrate our 100th anniversary and these improvements are intended to help this system last another 100 years.”
For water quality information, call 541-774-2430.
Questions can also be emailed to customerservice@medfordwater.org.
For an online “Questions and Answers” link, see medfordwater.org/News.asp?NewsID=552
Contact writer Buffy Pollock at buffyp76@yahoo.com.
