'It's repulsive': Peabody residents say water smells like wet dog

PEABODY, Mass. — It passes the eye test but when you get up close, this tap water in West Peabody stinks.

Residents have complained about the smell coming out of their faucets for weeks.

"It's like a swampy, fishy smell and taste," said resident Sally Thompson. "It's repulsive."

Thompson and her family have been dealing with the smell for weeks. She says it started four or five weeks ago and residents from West Peabody are all complaining about the same problem.

"Yesterday morning, I couldn’t even brush my teeth with it without gagging. It’s awful. It just kept getting worse and worse," said Thompson.

Sally says her source of water is Peabody's Winona Pond Water Treatment Plant. Officials have looked into the problem and they believe the culprit may be a nasty algae bloom.

Boston 25 News reporter Jason Law wanted to find out what was being done about the algae so he contacted the city and the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection. A state spokesperson sent the following statement:

“MassDEP is aware of the odor problem in the water supply in Peabody. MassDEP staff has been working with the city on this problem for the past week, and have been providing them technical assistance to try to help them resolve this issue. The probable source of the odor has been traced to a surface water algal bloom. The city has taken a sample from the treated water, which is being analyzed by a certified laboratory. Those results are expected back in the next few days. Two short-term treatment options, both of which are accepted practices in water supply are being pursued, the first is applying potassium permanganate to the treated water, which is expected to begin as early as Thursday or as late as Saturday, and the other is applying copper sulfate to the bloom in the reservoir, with a start date still to be determined.”

The state says preliminary results show no toxins and that the water is safe.

Cox Media Group