General News
28 March, 2025
Odour, odd taste and brown water in Horsham
Horsham residents were on high alert after they discovered the water supply had a sudden change in taste, discolouration and some permitting an odour earlier this week.
GWMWater executive manager service delivery Nick Mumford said routine sampling indicated increasing levels of geosmin, a natural compound, in the raw water storage at Mt Zero.
"Geosmin does not impact on the safety of drinking water, though may produce an earthy taste," he said.
GWMWater issued a statement on Facebook Monday evening, assuring residents that, "Geosmin does not impact the safety of drinking water. It has aesthetic properties which some people may be able to detect. It can present with a slightly musty odour and earthy taste in the water".
Horsham resident in Searle Street, Steph Williams, came across discoloured water Sunday night, March 23.
"It was actually my nine-year-old daughter who pointed it out because she was filling up a jug and yelled out to ask if the water was supposed to be brown," she said.
"I didn't actually believe her at first since the jug was coloured but she was right.
"My instant reaction was "don't drink that!" and told my other kids not to brush their teeth yet cause I wasn't sure what was going on."
Ms Williams said it didn't clear after five minutes of running water through the tap.
"I sent my husband to buy us some water for the night and called some friends to see if they were the same," she said.
When her friends said theirs were fine, she took to Facebook to see if her property was the only one.
From there, she discovered she wasn't alone.
"The water in Stawell Road had tasted like mould and smelt like it for at least a week," Shayla Marie commented.
Kate Hutchinson was tagged in the post and said "The water is foul! Glad it's not only us noticing it".
Many described the water tasting "dirty" and "muddy".
Ms Williams said they ended up running the sprinkler outside for an hour and a half.
"It cleared up after that and we went to bed," she said.
"But in the morning we had to run the water in the house for a few minutes and then it was back to normal."
Mr Mumford said an additional treatment process of powder activated carbon dosing which removes geosmin.
"This process was enabled last week but will take a few days to filter through to the town water reticulation system.
"Staff have been flushing water mains in affected areas where customers have reported changes to water quality.
"While routine sampling gives us a good information on water quality, we have to wait for those samples to be tested in laboratories."
GWMWater have asked residents if they continue to experience ongoing issues to contact them on 1800 188 586.
