Beaver Lake is the source of most of Northwest Arkansas’ tap water, and lately the ecosystem has been changing, leaving a bad taste in our H2O.
“I saw one of my friends the other day dump his water from the faucet because it was disgusting…luckily there was a Powerade machine close by so we just grabbed one of those,” UofA student Cody Johnson said.
According to the Beaver Water District, the summer time creates an oasis for the growth of algae in Beaver Lake and when the cooler temperatures arrive with fall, that algae dies off leaving smelly chemicals and an unpleasant taste in our drinking water.
“It’s really just an aesthetic problem, now that is not true for all taste and odor issues, for this one it’s just a different flavor that kind of tastes and smells earthy,” Dr. Bob Morgan said.
While some might be turned off by the tap, officials who treat the water are saying there is no reason to be worried about possible health hazards.
“It’s perfectly safe to drink, I would say just wait it out, by the middle of October its probably going to disappear,” Dr Morgan said.
In the mean time, you might have to toughen up those taste buds.