Stink in the Sink
Smelly Water in Meriden
By BEN SOSENKO
Updated 11:00 PM EDT, Thu, Nov 19, 2009
Something is in the water in Meriden and it stinks. The city has received nearly 100 phone calls since Monday from people complaining about a stench coming from the tap.
Dan Halloran says he first noticed the water’s foul scent in his Meriden home Monday and immediately called the city.
“We actually called the water department and they said they put a good amount of chlorine in there to kill some algae,” said Halloran.
Algae are causing the stench. The public utilities director of Meriden David Lohman says an algae bloom in the Broad Brook Reservoir is causing people to hold their noses while turning on their sink.
“It’s safe to drink,” said Lohman. “The aesthetics of it, the smell and the taste, especially when you heat the water, in a shower or for tea or a coffee, it makes the water more distinct.”
Halloran says the pumps from the reservoir have been shut down until all the algae is cleaned out. People still though, could be smelling foul water. He said while the pumps have been shut down, there is still water in the long pipes from the reservoir. Until that is all gone people could have smelly water.
Rodolfo Ruiz says although he has heard it’s safe to drink, he has been boiling his water until the smell is gone.
“3 days ago when I took a shower I kind of smelled a very bad smell,” said Ruiz. “I was drinking and I smelled it so I asked my wife, I said honey can you smell that.”
First Published: Nov 19, 2009 5:01 PM EDT
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