re: Official Ascension Parish Hurricane Isaac Thread

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What causes earthy, musty, swampy smelling water?

Usually the source of earthy, musty, or swampy tasting and smelling water starts well before is ever makes it to your home. This problem is most common if your water comes from a surface water source (lake, river, reservoir). Before the water reaches the water treatment plant algae, bacteria, and tiny fungi grow. Most water systems attempt to control these outbreaks before they make it to the treatment plant but sometimes they slip through. If they do make it into the treatment plant they rarely make it out. The treatment process itself will do away with the majority of any odor causing blooms. However, once in awhile the treatment process does not eliminate the odor causing chemicals that are leftover in the water. You end up with the smell of a swamp, pigpen, grass, must, or earth.

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What do you do about the unpleasant odor?

Before making any phone calls to the local water department there are a few steps to take. The first thing to do is to make sure it is the water itself and not your p trap. See an article entitled "Why Does My Water Stink like Rotten Eggs?" for a step by step process of ensuring it is the water. The article also details some ways you can clean your p trap.

After ensuring the smell is from the water itself you can then start flushing your plumbing system. Your water generally will come from a large diameter pipe in the street. Off of that main pipe will come your individual water service. The service will sometimes go through a meter and then go straight to a hose bib in the front of the house. Under the hose bib will be a small valve that can shut the water off to the entire house. This will be the beginning of your plumbing system.

Begin flushing the first hose bib in the front of the house. Let it run for 10 to 15 minutes. After that you can move to the next logical plumbing fixture in the house. This can be a bathroom sink, kitchen sink, or maybe a faucet in the garage. Let the plumbing fixture flush another 10 to 15 minutes. Then move to a large volume plumbing fixture like a bathtub. Let the bathtub flush for 10 to 15 minutes. The last step will be to flush the hose bib in the back of the house. Let this one also flush for 10 to 15 minutes.

Smell the water after completing each phase of flushing. Many times offensive odors can be cleared up by bringing fresh water into your plumbing system. If the odors persist then call the water department. Explain to them the steps you've already taken. You should see them begin flushing fire hydrants in the streets soon after your call. After they have completed flushing the hydrants begin your own plumbing flushing all over again. If the problem still has not cleared up call the water department back. There is no need to settle for water that smells like a swamp

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