Why does my tap water smell or taste funny? It’s because of stagnant water, rusty pipes, sand and moss. Although the water that comes from the water treatment plant is clean, the old, dirty and rusty pipes that deliver the water to our homes tend to affect its purity, taste and odour.
These pipes originate from multiple sources and can stretch for many kilometres. There may be spots where water is stagnant, resulting in the accumulation of sand or moss.
It is easy for consumers to make coffee, jump into the shower, brush their teeth and turn on the washing machine on their way out the door when they have access to clean water.
So when you are greeted with brown water from your faucets first thing in the morning, it’s a cause for some concern.
Sometimes brown water in your home’s water supply could be linked to burst water mains in your municipal system, or repairs. Or it could be due to the extensive use of water by the fire department or a case of high amounts of iron and/or manganese in the water. It could also be because of a rusty pipe.
Pipes aside, the water tanks in our landed properties and business premises can be blamed as well because they are not cleaned regularly.
What happens when you drink contaminated tap water? Microorganisms such as E-Coli and Coliform may form in the water if it is stored for a long period in the tank.
Contaminated water can cause many deadly diseases including cholera, typhoid and dysentery. You wouldn’t want to end up getting diarrhoea just from drinking water. Filtering or boiling your tap water before consumption is the best way to ensure safe drinking water.
This is a precautionary measure to ensure that microorganisms are killed and that there is no remaining sediment. Sediment provides nutrients for bacteria, enabling them to flourish in the water system. Rust is one of the primary sources of sediment in plumbing.
If you find that sediment in plumbing is a persistent problem or the remedial measures described above don’t sort out the problem, your best course of action would be to ask a plumber to flush your entire system.
This will help dislodge and remove sediment from the pipework, as well as from water heaters. Another benefit of flushing is that it helps to prevent water stagnation – another risk factor for Legionella growth.
The Malaysian Water Forum (FAM) supports Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye’s statement that tap water should be boiled before consumption.
Studies have shown that the level of selected minerals in Malaysian tap water is generally below permitted levels. This basically means that the water running through the pipes is actually safe to consume.
In fact, the treatment process is monitored regularly based on international water quality standards.
We can consider ourselves lucky as we are not as badly affected by water scarcity and water safety problems as people in some countries.
According to the United Nations, 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water. This causes hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths each year.
Our water tariffs are among the cheapest globally. Selangor and Johor, for example, charge only RM0.57 and RM0.80 per cubic meter of water respectively. Compared to Thailand and Singapore, which charge about RM1.09 and RM6.50 per cubic meter of water respectively for domestic use, our water prices are cheaper by at least 36%.
FAM and Universiti Sains Malaysia previously conducted a survey on water usage by Malaysians, involving 3,050 respondents nationwide.
According to the survey, about 76% of respondents stated that the water supplied to their home is not safe for drinking, while 59% felt that tap water contains chemicals that are dangerous to their health.
However, almost all respondents (99.4%) stated that education on water use is important among consumers.
FAM is undertaking outreach programmes to promote behavioural change in order to achieve the target of reducing water consumption from 226 litres to 180 litres per day by 2020.
Daily water consumption by our neighbours Singapore and Thailand stands at 154 litres and 90 litres respectively, while the World Health Organisation’s recommended usage is 165 litres per day.
Saral James Maniam is president of the Malaysian Water Forum.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.