Slight discolouration of water normal for situation, still safe to drink

You may have noticed a slight discolouration in the water pouring from your faucets, however the water is completely safe to drink, the city says.

The reason for the pale amber colour is due to higher flows in the South Saskatchewan River as a result of fast runoff and the spring melt, said Brian Murphy, general manager environmental utilities on Monday.

“It’s causing a fair bit of turbidity in the river water and as that proceeds through the water treatment process that is causing the discolouration that we’re seeing in the treated water,” said Murphy. “The water is still fully treated and all aspects related to the health and condition of the water are fully addressed. So, the water is still perfectly safe to drink. It’s just the aesthetic effect that we’re seeing.”

Although the water goes from the river to the treatment plant, there are minute particles of sediment even in the treated water that are not being completely filtered out due to the turbidity, he explained.

“They have no impact on safety of quality of drinking water. So it really is only a visual effect that we’re seeing,” said Murphy.

The water treatment plant has adjusted testing and treatment processes to respond to the discolouration, said Murphy.

“The water treatment plant has multiple parameters that are monitored continuously. Examples of these are Chlorine, turbidity, pH, UV transmittance. Additional parameters are monitored daily and some are tested weekly,” he said.

During this current period of increased turbidity, the water treatment plant is also performing some additional manual testing to ensure that treatment chemicals are being added at the right quantities at all times, and to ensure all monitoring equipment and testing is accurate and confirmed.

It meets and exceeds all Canadian Drinking Water and Alberta Environment guidelines, Murphy said.