Several people in Sparta have been posting on social media about the foul smell and taste of their water. Jobie Peeples went to check out the water for herself. She reached out to Sparta's Mayor, William Evans, and Kevin Chambers, from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. She also spoke to people in Sparta who were complaining about the water.
"I buy bottled water to drink," Sparta resident, Carolyn Greene said.
Annie Stembridge said, "I cook with it but I boil it."
"Smells something like sewage," Nancy Brown said.
Several people in Sparta told us their water smells and tastes bad. Brown says she's been buying bottled water to drink.
"You don't want to drink nothing that smells as bad as our water is smelling," Brown said.
We wanted to verify, is the water provided by the city of Sparta safe to consume?
Jobie Peeples spoke to the Mayor of Sparta, William Evans, over the phone. He wouldn't go on camera and he said he also advised city employees not to speak to Jobie either regarding the water issues.
So with no luck from Sparta city officials, we reached out to Kevin Chambers, the Communications Director for the state Environmental Protection Division.
"There's an algae bloom on Lake Sinclair, which is a drinking water source for the city of Sparta," Chambers said. "The city sells water to Hancock County, which in turn provides water to its customers. This is a taste and order issue but it does not pose a threat to public health."
So is the water safe to consume? We verified the answer is yes.
Tuesday afternoon Mayor William Evans released a statement.the water situation.
"A City of Sparta employee noticed an odor at the water treatment plant and immediately notified EPD. The cause of the odor and taste is the “turning over” of Lake Sinclair which results in an algae bloom. EPD advised that the City should treat the water with powdered activated carbon as this typically resolves the issue. The last time the lake turned over (approximately three years ago) this treatment resolved the problem. Unfortunately, after approximately a month of treatment the issue continued. EPD then advised to add sodium permanganate to the water. This resolution required the City to install additional equipment. This treatment was started on April 18, 2017 and has resolved the issue. City employees are currently flushing the system to remove the pre-treated water from the system. EPD was notified of the issue immediately and has been updated frequently. The water has always been safe for consumption by customers. There has been no discoloration and turbidity in the water. All other water systems withdrawing water from Lake Sinclair or the Oconee River have had similar issues with taste and odor due to the algae bloom."
Kevin Chambers with EPD says their office is still investigating Sparta's water problems.