Taste and Odour drinking water problems hit Dublin, but are common this year due to high temperatures
During October Irish Water were inundated with complaints that the water being supplied in Dublin and county Wicklow tasted and smelt earthy and musty. Odour and taste problems are a common complaint issue for water undertakers and it has been estimated that nearly all supplies will suffer from problems occasionally (Gray, 2008). Earthy/musty odours are the most common and are caused primarily by moulds and actinomycetes. They tend to be found where water is left standing in pipework but also when water becomes warm which is the possible cause this year in Dublin. These problems are generally arise due to plumbing issues or unlined boreholes, especially when the soil is waterlogged. Blue-green algae is also a possible cause when water is supplied from reservoirs. Vartry Reservoir Wicklow, source RTE News, ( https://www.rte.ie/news/ ) The common compounds that fall into this tase/odour category include Geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol, 2-isopr...