Residents of the Northern Beaches may notice an earthy taste or smell coming from their water and Townsville City Council would like to assure the community that it is safe to drink.
Council regularly monitors the quality of the drinking water across the city and has found the presence of a naturally-occurring compound – geosmin – in the water supply.
Geosmin is released by some types of algae and bacteria that are present in the Paluma Dam/Crystal Creek supply to the Northern Beaches area.
This compound can produce a musty or earthy taste but is not harmful at the levels present and the water is completely safe to drink.
Council treats the water supply to the highest standard as per the Australian Water Drinking Guidelines and will continue to work in the affected areas to minimise the impact to the community by flushing the water where appropriate.
Currently, the Northern Beaches are the only impacted area.
