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T O P I C     R E V I E W jamesmc Hello, I just moved to Allen last Saturday and I have noticed that the water has a foul odor to it and also leaves a residue behind. Has anybody else experienced this or is this just my house? I am residing off of Willow Oak St. Thanks. James sirhotwheels Allen water comes from that mud hole everyone calls a lake: Lavon. It's all nasty. But it should not be as bad as you said. How long was the water off before y'all bought it? It may just be that it needs to be run for a while. I would run the outside line for about an hour and see if it clears up. Also, get something to put in the tanks of the tolits, so type of cleaner tablet. The last thing I would do is have one of those water filter companies come test your water. They will do this for free and you just have to listen to the sales pitch. Best of luck SHW civicminded I would also give the City a chance to evaluate this, or explain any temporary problem Al C I'm glad someone brought this up. We've lived in Allen for over 3 years and only recently have we had residue (spots on dishes) left behind after washing. Also, we've been getting that icky green buildup on faucets lately. That never appeared until this year. Has something changed in our water supply or treatment? txbeeguy Hummm...if you guys are complaining now, just wait until August when the algea bloom hits! {just make sure you're first to the grocery stores for the bottled water....because they soon run out - looks like the Allen grocery stores would lean to "stock up" on water beginning in July!} denisew Actually, I think the algae bloom starts sometime in July - no difference. One of the main reasons for the algae bloom is over-fertilization of our lawns. It rains or people water after fertilizing (usually done in early spring then again in June) and it gets washed down the street into the storm drain which runs into our creeks which runs into Lake Lavon. There is where the fertilizer gets working on the algae and causes it to "bloom" and it gives off a substance that makes our water taste bad for a few weeks in the summer. It isn't harmful, just tastes bad. Allen has a superior rating for its water supply and usually in our July or August utility bill there will be a newsletter from the city explaining the water quality and the algae bloom. A person can also get one of those water purifiers that attaches to the kitchen faucet or one of those Brita filters if they don't want to have to lug home bottled water every week. If you are getting algae build-up around your faucets, try replacing the screw on filter thing (can't remember what that part is called) at the end of the faucet. Be sure to bring it with you to the hardware store to get the right size. rmansimp Here are the facts on the algae bloom, it is not the fertilizer..... The North Texas summer climate normally consists of high temperatures and trace amounts of rainfall. The high temperatures and lack of rainfall create an ideal environment for algae to bloom in surface water supplies. Each summer, throughout the months of July and August, lakes and other surface water supplies experience a natural event � an algal bloom. Algal blooms are common to surface water supplies in warm weather climates like Texas. As hot summer temperatures warm the reservoirs, the lack of rainfall lessens the turbidity (clarity) and allows the sunlight to penetrate the water. With the increase of water temperature and the lack of turbidity, photosynthesis will occur, providing the right environment for algae to reproduce the bloom. When an algae bloom exists, there is a possibility for a grassy, earthy taste in the treated drinking water supply. This event, although aesthetically undesirable to the public, does not alter the quality of water provided to the cities and communities for their use. NTMWD laboratory personnel monitor the raw water quality from Lake Lavon prior to its treatment. One of the many analyses performed is an algae count. Laboratory personnel, through this daily activity, can detect the onset of algal bloom. As blue-green algae species Nostoc and Anabaena reproduce or �bloom,� they produce an oily organic substance that is responsible for the change in taste and odor of the treated drinking water. Source: http://www.cityofallen.org/pdf/publications/water_rep03.pdf civicminded Is this all related to the same problem we're having with hydrilla, in the lakes? PAG LOL!! When we first moved to TX 4+ years ago, I wondered the same thing. All the seasoned Allenites were just like, Oh, that's the way it is! We've never drank the tap water since day one. This just makes me laugh!!! Hang in there!