If you've filled up a glass of water from the tap in Tamworth lately and wondered why it tastes and smells so different, there is an explanation.
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In a post on social media, Tamworth Regional Council said it had received numerous complaints about the recent change in odour and taste to the Tamworth, Kootingal and Moonbi water supply.
The post goes on to say this is "due to us sourcing water from the Peel River, which has some green algae in the water".
"The algae can cause the water to smell and taste dirty."
The council says it is adding carbon to the water "to remove this taste and odour from the supply" and the water should be back to normal in a few days.
The post concludes that the water supply "still meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines" and is "safe for residents to drink".
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines provide a basis for determining the quality of water to be supplied to consumers and are used by state and territory health departments and drinking water regulators, local health authorities and water utilities.
One Tamworth resident took to social media to say she had been so put off by the taste of the water, that she was stocking up on bottled water instead.
Meanwhile, reduced operating hours at the Barraba landfill are ongoing this week.
A fire, which broke out at the Barraba tip on January 22, meant it could not accept any waste other than household general and recycling waste.
On Tuesday, a council spokesperson told the Leader, a thorough clean up at the Barraba waste facility is continuing this week.
"We'll update you once again when the site is safe and normal operations resume," the spokesperson said.
"And our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause."
Operating hours for tips in all of Tamworth's surrounding towns were "temporarily" slashed in mid September 2023, due to labour shortages.
Despite missing its Christmas deadline for hours to be restored, council says it cannot provide a new timeframe for when it expects the labour shortage issue will be resolved.
