Unusually warm winter weather has recently given Hanover's water supply what authorities are calling a "fishy odor ... and an off taste."
Students have complained about discolored tap water with a fish-like taste and smell in many College residence halls.
Residents of first the East Wheelock dorms and then several other residence halls have questioned the quality of the water for several days, causing Director of Residential Operations Woody Eckels to post a BlitzMail message yesterday to all cluster residences explaining the phenomenon.
The change in water taste and smell is caused by unseasonably warm temperatures affecting Hanover's open reservoir system, Michael Blayney, vice-president of Hanover's Water Works Company, said.
Blayney, who also serves as director of Environmental Health and Safety for the College, said the reservoir is composed of different layers with varying temperatures.
The warm climate of the recent week has caused bottom layers, which often have a foul smell, to rise to the top of the reservoir and replace the layers usually found at the top, Blayney told The Dartmouth.
Hanover experiences this same change in water taste and smell every spring when the reservoirs thaw and temperatures rise, Blayney said.
Hanover Water Works has received calls from citizens concerned about the water's taste and quality, and has assured them that the water is safe to drink.
Water samples are taken in 8-10 locations in the area and are sent to State authorities for safety testing.
Authorities state that the problem will soon mend itself, and that citizens should not be concerned.
In the mean time, students have taken to buying bottled water, and boiling tap water and then refrigerating it.
"I can't take the taste," said Deanne Battle '03, who lives in the South Fayerweather residence hall. "Since we came back from break, it's been awful -- one of my roommates calls it "fish water" because it smells like a fish tank."
