YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The York Water Company is reassuring its customers that their drinking water is still safe to use despite growing concerns about its odd smell and taste.
On Friday, the company began receiving comments from its customers about the odor and taste. They released a Facebook statement on Monday:
"We are aware and have received customer inquiries from customers who are noticing a possible taste and odor difference in the water. Please note that our water is safe to drink and there is no cause for concern. We cannot predict exactly how long the taste and odor will be noticeable, but we expect changes made in our treatment process will have a positive noticeable effect over the course of the week."
In comments responding to the Facebook statement, customers described the water as moldy foul, and even undrinkable. However, the company urges their water meets all drinking water standards.
"Our customers' noses, their taste buds are correct. There is an increased taste and odor issue with the drinking water supply, but most important, despite the taste and odor issue the drinking water is absolutely safe to drink," said JT Hand, president and CEO of The York Water Company.
The company says the odd smell and taste is due to algal byproducts. Algae is not in the water, according to a statement released by the company, but the byproducts produced by algae can result in a taste and odor.
The scent and taste also reportedly stem from a combination of factors, including the early summer drought, low water supply, high temperatures, poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires and recent storms.
"It’s not that good York water that we are known for but it is a combination of some ambient factors in the environment, which have created this taste and odor issue," said Hand. "All of these factors come together to create a challenging treatment condition for the York Water Company."
To address the issue, the company is adjusting its chemical treatment process but says it's a tough balancing act between the taste and odor, the amount of chemical they can use and maintaining safe water drinking standards.
"It is a balance between the aesthetics and the safety of the supply," said Hand. "When it comes to a choice between aesthetics and safety, the York Water Company will always lean towards safety."
The company says they are working hard to find this balance and customers should notice a difference within the next 48 hours.
"We do the best we possibly can. Don't want to make any excuses. We're going to address it. We are going to get this fixed." said Hand. "We'll have that good York water flowing back to our customers as soon as possible."