Filtration change at treatment facility leads to complaints of smelly, musty water in Regina

Kurtis Anderson says the water at his home in Regina's south end smells and tastes terrible. 

"It really just kind of smells like soil, like organic matter," he said in an interview on Friday. 

The problem, which began a few weeks ago, is not just limited to drinking water. His family's clothes have the same cloying smell after being run through the wash, their dishes appear to be coated in something and even the water in the shower reeks. 

"It seems to come and go a little bit, but there's times where it's really bad," Anderson said. 

The problem isn't coming from inside their home. It's coming from the water source.

The Buffalo Pound water treatment facility feeds water to Regina, Moose Jaw and some smaller communities across southeast Saskatchewan. 

On Friday, the CEO of the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation, which operates the facility, confirmed that the odd smell and taste is the result of a change in filtration. 

"It's not an unusual occurrence," said Ryan Johnson. 

The facility draws water from Buffalo Pound Lake, which Johnson admits "is not a great source of water, but it's the source of water we have."

The lake is only three metres deep, a kilometre wide and 30 kilometres long. Its shallowness means that during the summer a large amount of cyanobacteria grows in the water, affecting its taste and smell. 

The facility uses granular activated carbon filtration to remove that bacteria, but only does so between May and November. 

Shutting down the carbon filter allows for the carbon to regenerate over the winter. It is then reactivated in May. 

It's a process that has been carried out since the 1980s, Johnson said. But some people appear to notice when the water filtration changes. Johnson said the company receives a small number of reports every time that process happens, with the changes in smell or taste persisting for a few weeks. 

"It's perfectly safe. It's an aesthetic issue. It may not smell or taste as good as it typically does, but it's still safe to drink," Johnson said.