RACINE, Wis. — Foul smelling and tasting water is plaguing customers in southern Wisconsin. It's a story TMJ4 first reported this weekend.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Racine residents report unusual taste in drinking water; city officials maintain water remains safe to consume
Since then, dozens of viewers have called and emailed us saying, it's not just Racine.
"Well probably in the last three weeks, four weeks, we've been getting almost a mildew-y, mossy taste to the water. And the kids have noticed it, my husband's noticed it, I've noticed it, and we won't drink the water," Gia Cook, who lives in Sturtevant, said.
The complaints are all over social media and are now making its way to city leaders.
"A lot of people complaining that the water smells funny and tastes funny," Racine City Alderman Henry Perez said.
The city of Racine takes in, treats and distributes water to its residents as well as people living in Mount Pleasant, Sturtevant and Caledonia.
On Racine's Facebook page, customers were warned last month that rising lake temperatures were causing a foul smell and taste in drinking water, with the reassurance that it was still safe to consume.
"If that was the case then why in the last 12 years haven't we tasted that, you know, so I don't believe that that's the reason," Cook said.
TMJ4 got an exclusive look inside Racine's water treatment plant Monday.
"So this is water that people are drinking," Reporter Jenna Rae asked Joel Brunner, Racine's water plant superintendent.
"Yeah," he responded.
Brunner maintains that the water meets safety standards despite the aesthetic issues of smell and taste impacting customers.
"We recognize that more than usual people are reaching out to us and just want to let them know the water is safe and we're doing what we can to improve it," Brunner explained.
Watch: More Racine County residents now complaining of foul-smelling and tasting water
Brunner's degree and expertise is in water resources and treatment. He said because Lake Michigan is getting warmer, the smell and taste of our drinking water is changing.
"Has anything changed chemically that you guys have noticed in the last couple of weeks," Rae asked Brunner.
"Not that I can recall," he responded.
"How often are you testing the water that's being distributed out," Rae asked.
"Continuously. We don't take public health lightly and we know we provide a critical source to the community and we wanna live up to the regulations and we are, just these taste and odors are impacting just the aesthetics of the water, not necessarily the safety of the water," Brunner added.
For residents experiencing issues with their water, Brunner recommends letting the tap run for a while before drinking or refrigerating the water to chill it.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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