Smelly water still in some Austin pipes

Some Austin Water customers in the far southern reaches of the city’s water system might have to continue dealing with funky water until the end of the week.

Officials with the utility started receiving reports of smelly water late last week, with many of them coming from Central and South Austin. Austin Water said clusters of dead zebra mussels had clung to pipes at the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant, giving the water coming from there a foul smell and taste. Officials said the water is still safe to drink.

Austin Water director Greg Meszaros on Monday said the tainted water has flushed its way through much of the city’s water system, though more of it is likely still present.

The mussels had been attached to a pipe that was temporarily taken out of service, resulting in their death. When the pipe went back online, water rushed over the mussels, making it smell fishy, Austin Water officials said.

“This is not a good circumstance,” Meszaros said. “We don't want customers experiencing fishy-smelling water. It just takes a while for this water to work through our system. It's hard for us to predict exactly where the water may hang up and not circulate. So, that's where we rely on customer calls.”

READ MORE: Zebra mussels blamed for smelly water from Austin taps, officials say

It was unclear Monday whether affected customers could expect a break in their water bills after the problem, but Meszaros said it was something officials will consider when they correct it.

“Right now, we’re focusing on the operational side of this, stabilizing the system and flushing it,” he said. “I think as we work through that and stabilize that, and customer complaints go down to manageable levels, we’ll be taking up any additional steps we want to take to keep customers whole in this regard.”

The water woes mark the second time since the fall that the utility has been compromised by outside factors.

In October, heavy downpours throughout the region overwhelmed Austin Water’s treatment plants, forcing officials to issue a citywide boil-water notice that lasted a week. Murky water that looked more like chocolate milk flooded into the area, inundating rivers and lakes as far west as Lake Buchanan.

While that issue resulted from freakish weather and historic flooding, this week’s problems stemmed from a known nuisance: invasive zebra mussels.

Zebra mussels have rapidly spread throughout Austin waterways, including those from which the city draws water.

Clusters of the mussels were found clogging Austin Water intake filters in September.

Before this smelly water problems arose, authorities had focused their efforts on controlling the mussels' population on water intakes. Officials now know that the mussels have spread even further.

“Zebra mussels are well into our raw water system. They're not just isolated on our intakes in the lake; they’ve worked their way up the raw water pipelines that bring that water to our plants," Meszaros said.

Austin Water has contracts with divers who scrape mussels from pipes and will also implement new chemical treatments to stem the growth of the mussels, officials said. Eventually, the city is looking at spending millions of dollars to fight the invasive species, including more mechanical and chemical cleaning.

“Zebra mussels are an invasive species. They weren't here three years ago — and they're here by the millions now,” Meszaros said. “We have to learn and update through this, but other utilities have effectively combated zebra mussels and we are going to figure this out, too.”

Officials said it's tough to pinpoint exactly where tainted water is still in the system. Anyone who is still dealing with the problem can call 3-1-1 and provide a location, so crews can flush pipes in the area.