Report a taste or odour issue

Taste and odour in water can vary from tap to tap and can be impacted by naturally occurring minerals, treatment processes or something in your internal plumbing.

Here are some common taste and odour problems:

Chlorine

Chlorine odours can be caused by the small amount of chlorine in the water reacting with household plumbing fixtures such as hoses, tap washers, and tap strainers/aerators.

Before reporting a chlorine taste or odour to us, we recommend:

Head out the front and try the water from the tap closest to your meter - is this water producing a chlorine taste or odour? If yes, try running the tap for a few minutes to see if the problem resolves. You can always reuse this water on the garden. 

If you have run your taps for a few minutes and the taste or odour problem persists, you can report this to us and we will investigate. 

Musty, mouldy or earthy

Musty, mouldy or earthy tastes or odours can be caused by organic growth within water pipes. This is most commonly noticed if you have not used your taps for a while, such as returning from holidays. Try running the tap for a few minutes to clear the lines.

Before reporting your water has a musty, mouldy or earthy taste to us, we recommend:

Head out the front and try the water from the tap closest to your meter - is this water producing the same taste or odour? If yes, try running the tap for a few minutes to see if the problem resolves. You can always reuse this water on the garden. 

If you have run your taps and the taste or odour problem persists, you can report this to us and we will investigate.

Metallic

A metallic taste may occur if the internal water pipes on the property have corroded and the rusty metal is transferring to your drinking water. If high doses are present, customers may also notice a change in the colour of the water. If this is the case a plumber may be required to rectify this problem.

Before reporting a metallic taste to us, we recommend:

Head out the front and try the water from the tap closest to your meter - is this water producing the same metallic taste or odour? If yes, try running the tap for a few minutes to see if the problem resolves. You can always reuse this water on the garden. 

If you have run your taps and the taste or odour problem persists, you can report this to us and we will investigate. 

 

Steps to report

If you have checked the water coming from the tap nearest to your water meter and the problem still persists, submit our online maintenance form and we will investigate the problem.

How to report

Submit our online maintenance request

The link below will take you to Council's online request management platform.

Report online

Need help?

Need help? Contact us today

Call us on (02) 4429 3214 or visit your closest administration centre

Nowra Administration Centre
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm
36 Bridge Road, Nowra NSW 2541

Ulladulla Branch Office
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10:00am to 2:00pm
14 Deering Street, Ulladulla NSW 2539

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