Drought causes smelly water problem
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:06 pm
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Drought conditions are beginning to cause problems in the Fort Worth region.
The city is currently 13 inches short of its normal rainfall which is leading tap water to smell.
Fortunately, the water tastes fine, but residents say it smells like sulfur.
The water department says it is perfectly safe to use but workers are using chemicals to treat the problem.
The reason the water smells so bad is because the city was forced to change its water source. Fort Worth is now pumping water from east Texas - 75 miles away.
Forecasters say lack of rainfall is really beginning to take a toll.
"This winter we would need to have rainfall that's nearly double our normal values to raise the deficits of the last several months and that's not likely," says Daniel Huckaby from the National Weather Service.
The weather service says it is the worst drought since the late nineties and everyone is being urged to conserve their water.
The city is currently 13 inches short of its normal rainfall which is leading tap water to smell.
Fortunately, the water tastes fine, but residents say it smells like sulfur.
The water department says it is perfectly safe to use but workers are using chemicals to treat the problem.
The reason the water smells so bad is because the city was forced to change its water source. Fort Worth is now pumping water from east Texas - 75 miles away.
Forecasters say lack of rainfall is really beginning to take a toll.
"This winter we would need to have rainfall that's nearly double our normal values to raise the deficits of the last several months and that's not likely," says Daniel Huckaby from the National Weather Service.
The weather service says it is the worst drought since the late nineties and everyone is being urged to conserve their water.