Be thankful there's still a healthy trickle coming out of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, San Francisco. Our neighbors to the east, who depend on other reservoirs for their drinking water, have experienced one of the first distasteful signs that we are, in fact, in a serious drought that will continue to affect us all in various ways. As multiple news stations reported last night, and as the Chronicle reported, customers across Oakland, Berkeley, El Cerrito, and as far east as Walnut Creek have been complaining to the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) about smelly, mineral-tasting water coming out of their taps the past few days. And while the water is, reportedly, safe to drink, the reason for the change in water quality is because EBMUD made the decision to tap a different, warmer section of the Pardee Reservoir for its water supply last week.
Because it was taking water from warmer section of the reservoir, there is more algae in the water than in deeper, colder areas, and even after filtration the taste and smell remains.
After the deluge of complaints, EBMUD quickly decided to go back to tapping its better tasting, cold water reserves, but this is likely only temporary, as snow melt dripping into the reservoir has been unusually low once again this year.
Says a spokesperson for EBMUD to CBS 5, "As the drought continues and if we don't find any other options, this is a problem that is going to come back."
And we shouldn't have to remind you, but the state only has about a year of water left, and this is actually crisis that authorities appear to be trying not to scare us about.
Related: Here's What The State Wants You To Do To Conserve Water, And Here's What You Actually Should Do