Over the past few weeks, some residents around Lubbock have been noticing a particular smell coming from their tap water. 
 
Jessica Stice, a Lubbock resident, said she cooks in her kitchen every day and a few weeks ago she began to notice a funny smell coming from the sink.

“I don’t normally drink the tap water, we drink bottled water, but I do cook with the tap water,” Stice said.

She said she had several questions about whether or not the smell was normal.

“I was just concerned that there was a residue on my dishes or when I was washing clothes and stuff,” Stice said.

Her main concern, was whether or not it’s safe to drink and use for cooking, she said. 

“Both my children have very sensitive skin, is it going to affect the quality of our bathing,” Stice said. 

Aubrey Spear, with the city’s water department, said the smell comes from harmless algae in one of Lubbock’s water supplies, Lake Meredith, which supplies 11 percent of Lubbock’s water.

“All lakes have algae that grow from time to time, and when algae starts to [die], it creates what we call geosmin,” Spear said. “It has an odor to it and as you move south where it’s warmer, lakes are more prone to the geosmin.”

Spear said it’s common for people to smell it for several days after the water treatment. However, it will go away in about a week, he said.

“We took action and started injecting what we call a carbon slurry into our water supply that’s coming from the north that actually knocks out the odor,” Spear said.