Water odor sparks concern near Downtown El Paso

An ABC-7 viewer said it was in June when he became concerned about an odor coming out of his tap.

“It would smell like dirt,” David Villanueva told ABC-7.

Villanueva thought it was the pipes in his home, which is nearly 100 years old, in the Rio Grande Historic District just north of Downtown El Paso.

“Just an earthiness smell and taste to the water,” Villanueva said, describing the odor. “No discoloration to my water, just a smell.”

Villanueva said friends and neighbors in his area, and as far east as Central El Paso, also complained. He said he endured the odor until one morning while taking a shower.

“I take a shower, and I feel like I take a shower in a river or a lake. That’s how it smells,” he said.

Villanueva said after calling El Paso Water, he was told that the source of water for his neighborhood was recently switched from aquifers to the river. El Paso Water confirmed with ABC-7 that treatment of an algae bloom in the river is causing the earthy odor.

Villanueva said he was not aware of a change in his home’s water source, from aquifer to river.

“I don’t like it. It’s a little unusual to me that they would make that sort of change and not tell us,” he said.

Villanueva even purchased a water-testing kit online to check for bacteria. He said the test came back negative.

“This is the water we drink. This is the water we bathe in. This is the water that I (give) to my dogs. It’s water we all do things with,” Villanueva said.

El Paso Water said in a statement to ABC-7 that the water is safe and healthy to drink, and meets all drinking water standards.

Meantime, Villanueva said he’ll stay true to his tap. But he’s relying on lemons to cover up the taste in his water.

ABC-7 asked El Paso Water about whether it discloses when it switches the water source to the river from aquifers. The utility said that customers should expect for the source of the water to change during the summer months, when water is released for farming and irrigation.

El Paso Water said it notifies customers in the summer about drinking water sources in fliers that are mailed with monthly bills, and it posts the information on its website in its annual drinking water report. But officials told ABC-7 that customers may contact them with any concerns. The list of contact information is here.

The utility offered ABC-7 at tour of the treatment plant that converts river water to potable water. View that story here.