LA tap water... (Los Angeles, Orange: gas, rated, best place)

[straight outta camden]

Originally Posted by lesallimc

Yes, I know someone at DWP, and he told me the exact same thing. I live in an old house, so I filter the water because the pipes the water flows through within my house is where the water becomes "dirty."

I'm dubious about this. First of all, as another poster noted, NYC water is consistently delicious. And that travels through all kinds of ancient and nasty pipes. Second, if it were the pipes, LA water would presumably taste nastier during hot weather, or when you turn the tap on first thing in the morning. It would taste very different in different houses even in the same neighborhood. None of which seems to be true. It's just a bit nasty all over.

[asielen]

Originally Posted by straight outta camden

I'm dubious about this. First of all, as another poster noted, NYC water is consistently delicious. And that travels through all kinds of ancient and nasty pipes. Second, if it were the pipes, LA water would presumably taste nastier during hot weather, or when you turn the tap on first thing in the morning. It would taste very different in different houses even in the same neighborhood. None of which seems to be true. It's just a bit nasty all over.

I actually think there is some truth to this. I lived in Long Beach, (which admittedly has their own water systems and the such), and we got new plumbing to replace the 50 year old pipes in the house and the water tasted fine after that. No filter needed. Before the water wasn't that bad either, but it did have a subtle metallic taste.

The water in LA county is safe to drink. Its just a matter of taste. There is a tendency to go a bit nuts with all these filtration systems now.

[vegaspilgrim]

The water tastes alright, but what's absolutely disgusting is when I turn on the faucet and as soon as water flows down the drain an extremely intense sewer smell comes up, making me practically want to throw up when I'm brushing my teeth. It seems like the sewer gas problem is at its worst right in the morning, and this happens every single day. Anybody else experience this? Any way to fix this?

[BRinSM]

the nasty smell comes from sulfur in your water. i've had this issue before, but never actually dealt with it. i'm sure there is some kind of filter you could buy to eliminate this.

[ITChick]

Originally Posted by lesallimc

Another thing to think about.... He told me that bottled water does not have the same regulations as tap water, so he told me he wouldn't drink bottled water! Scary!

That sounds right to me based on what I was told from a person who worked for the water reclamation department in my area. Also, some bottled water has been found to come from tap water: Aquafina labels to spell out source - tap water - CNN.com

It is amazing how many people I know who think bottled water is safer.

[lesallimc]

Originally Posted by straight outta camden

I'm dubious about this. First of all, as another poster noted, NYC water is consistently delicious. And that travels through all kinds of ancient and nasty pipes. Second, if it were the pipes, LA water would presumably taste nastier during hot weather, or when you turn the tap on first thing in the morning. It would taste very different in different houses even in the same neighborhood. None of which seems to be true. It's just a bit nasty all over.

Actually, it is true. Some of the piping in my house has been replaced and some hasn't. The water in my shower (just completely redone, all new pipes) I would drink without a second thought. The water in my kitchen and bathtub, no way. Also, the water is worse first thing in the morning (although like I mentioned, I only drink filtered now.) I'm not comparing NYC water to LA water, just the water within my own house.

[streetscenes]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

The water tastes alright, but what's absolutely disgusting is when I turn on the faucet and as soon as water flows down the drain an extremely intense sewer smell comes up, making me practically want to throw up when I'm brushing my teeth. It seems like the sewer gas problem is at its worst right in the morning, and this happens every single day. Anybody else experience this? Any way to fix this?

Under your sink there is a trap, this is the U shaped piece of pipe. The idea is that the U holds water in it to block the sewer gases from coming into your house. Sounds like the water in the trap is leaking out and letting the gas come up through the sink drain. If it only happens in the morning then it's probably a slow leak that takes all night to drain out. Look for a leak in this area and patch it or replace it.

[kettlepot]

I live in an older area, and my water tasted like the usual liquefied southern California rock. When the city replaced the 70 year old water mains in my neighborhood, I noticed a distinct improvement in the taste of the tap water. It's not perfect by any means - the pipes coming into my house are still old - but definitely part of the problem with southern California's foul tasting water is the age of the delivery system.

[Cato the Elder]

The rocks and crap coming out is calcified buildup in old galvanized pipes. In an old house, if you cut a cross section of a galvanized pipe, you would see buildup like a clogged artery - no way around it. It's even worse b/c most older houses don't have 1/2" pipes so you often only get a trickle in the far reaches of the house. This isn't a problem with copper pipes, but copper is pretty expensive these days. Most of the country has gone with PEX, but I believe it's still not approved in CA. You don't need to solder with PEX, just crimp, and it cuts easily. It's also color-coded red and blue and can bend so it eliminates many joints. It also doesn't sweat or lose heat like copper b/c it insulates much better. Most importantly, it's cheaper than copper and can actually withstand more pressure. Once CA gets on board with PEX, I think many more houses will have new pipes that don't taste funky.

Oh, and to add to the Aquafina story, one verifed source for the water is the Detroit River!

[Corrinne]

Growing up the water was delicious right from the hose, never mind from the tap....

But now, I can literally gag trying to drink a glass of unfiltered tap water. A quick swallow with a pill, maybe ok. But the taste of the water is unbelievably bad and quite often there's a very strong chlorine smell and taste.