For any Johnson Countian who may have noticed a funny taste or smell to their tap water lately, WaterOne has an important message: your water is absolutely safe to drink.
The different “flavor profile,” as WaterOne officials put it, is due to seasonal temperature changes in local river water, and technicians are already making adjustments for it, said Mandy Cawby, WaterOne customer relations director.
Calls about funny taste have increased
- Cawby said the public utility has received a few dozen calls over the past 48 hours about a changed taste in the tap water.
- The issue got a bit more attention Thursday when Shawnee Mission School District Deputy Superintendent Joe Gilhaus sent a letter informing families of odd tasting water in several buildings.
- The taste was reported in at least five buildings, but as of Thursday afternoon, no further information was available on exactly which school buildings.
What’s behind the different taste
- Cawby said she had not heard about SMSD’s communication to parents, but the changing flavor of local water was due to recent temperature fluctuations that bring more and different types of organic material into the water supply.
- As the weather changes in spring and fall, water can “turn over” in lakes and rivers, bringing with it more plant material.
- That plant material is filtered out through water treatment, but sometimes odors can remain, water officials said.
WaterOne draws from both the Kansas and Missouri rivers
- Cawby said in this instance, the changing temperatures caused an ice dam to break loose near the Missouri water intakes, bringing with it a lot of different organic materials.
- February is a little early for this type of thing to happen, she said, but still, “this is a natural and normal part of running a water utility.”
- The calls came from different places in the county, with no concentration in any one place, she said.
The issues are likely countywide
- The issue would affect the whole county, but she said some people are more sensitive than others to changes in its smell and taste.
- Most customers will probably not notice a difference, she said.
- Cawby said the unusual taste will be “super temporary” and that water that has been adjusted to offset it is already in the pipelines.
- It may take another couple of days for that new batch of water to cover all of WaterOne’s 272-square-mile service area, she said.
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at roxieham@gmail.com.
