Thank you for the explanation I was getting concerned.

"blending"??? So "treated" water from a "water treatment plant" (a sewage treatment plant???) is "blended" with sweet water from Hetch Hetchy and the result tastes like "pond scum"??? Hmmmmm ... so is "water treatment plant" a not-so-secret code for "TREATED SEWAGE"???

@Mark, that startled me at first, too, but reports have been consistent that "grey water" i.e. treated sewage is used only for outdoor uses such as irrigation as is not mixed into our drinking water. According to the article, the bad taste in the tap water comes from sediment that had accumulated in the pipes, presumably due to those pipes standing idle for some time.

The other thing to keep in mind that all H2O molecules on the planet participate in a continuous water cycle, where water is consumed, then released where it evaporates and comes back to us as precipitation, completing the cycle. Every drop we drink has at some point been in contact with ick :-)

We have relatives who live in Oklahoma and every summer their water starts to taste "off", something to do with algae growth. Come fall, cooler weather, water goes back to regular taste.

I've always thought we are so lucky to have such wonderful water straight from the tap. Hope this A is very temporary and it gets back to normal soon!

What will happen to our water when they get rid of hetch hetchy dam?

If the environmentalists have there way, our water will surely smell and taste like sewage.

We need more dams, not get rid of them. Support more dams so we can all have safer clean water.

Another thing, the water departments should only be in the business of water and not waste time playing landlords. Maybe that way they could avoided this bad smelling water issue.

It's just a seasonal thing. Happens in many places around the country...world i would imagine, not just CA.

Seasonal? Did you even bother to read the article?

The bad taste and smell is from the use of a different source of water and pipe that had sediment in them.

Once the sediment clears the taste and smell should go away.

NOTHING to do with seasons or the weather.

A different source within SFPUC,is due to Seasonal Rainfall! Besides Hetch-Hetchy,the other reservoirs need to have water used from them during the rainy season. When they switch, different parts of the piping network get used, as stated in the article.

It's reported every late fall when these switches are made. Check it out Otto.

10 second search, here, from 2010. Sounds like the same exact discussions. It happens most every year in the bay area this time of year as water sources are changed/blended/brought online. The long time locals will tell you as well:
Web Link

Here's a tune for that guy talking smack about environmentalists,
entitled "Them Hippies was Right":

Web Link