A perspective of the smelly water crisis Austin, Texas is facing.

City of Austin, Texas is currently facing a smelly water crisis. Residents living downtown and south have been complaining that the water from Colorado River aka Lady Bird Lake smells like poop. Residents have been complaining about their water supply smelling like poop containing an unusual odor. The City of Austin is aware of this. City of Austin officials state Zebra mussels are to blame for downtown's smelly water. Zebra mussels are the reason why the water smells like a septic tank.

These Zebra mussels can be traced to the inside of a raw water pipeline at the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant which is where these fowl odor issues can be traced and backtracked to. This information is all according to KXAN and Austin Water. (Ref: https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/city-of-austin-zebra-mussels-to-blame-for-downtown-s-smelly-water/1761932112?fbclid=IwAR2BzoGQdiaV3XRZvwN2dxFosg6-b3d7Gu2EToQMlBxAGLk6aVgLze4Fi8Q)



Residents living downtown and south have been complaining about how Colorado River is polluted by the presence of Zebra mussels. Evidently, Zebra mussels can be transferred by even small amounts of water as these tiny mollusks can latch on to any surface under water.

Zebra mussels were first found in the state of Texas in 2009. When discovered, no one would have second guessed Zebra mussels would spread like wildfire. As of 2019, Zebra muscles have multiplied spreading quickly across the Colorado River Basin.

State agencies, city officials, county officers, and environmental groups have asked boat owners to clean their boats before and after each use when coming to or from the water. Currently there is no boil water notice in effect.


However some residents in the area complained their water smell like copper as they have remains of copper sediment inside of their water. This can be attributed to plumbing issues from over the years.

Another example of copper sediment of being found in the water is the Texas HHSC water supply. Copper sediment still remains in Texas HHSC water supply.

On the date of 10/4/2018, an employee of Texas HHSC found copper sediment in the water coming from a water fountain. The copper sediment sample was recorded and documented on the date of 10/4/2018. It was then that an employee taped the copper sediment sample on top of said water fountain.

This was an attempt to warn and inform Texas HHSC employees along with contractors about copper in their water supply coming from a particular water fountain.

Sticky notes were posted on the water fountain with the captions of “Mmm… copper” and “Can we drink this or nah”. One sticky note has a humorous remark poking fun at this situation with a caption saying “Enjoy a glass of water. Have a copper more while you’re at it”. The grammar found on those sticky notes has atrocious grammar errors.

As of April 2019, copper sediment remains evident in the Texas HHSC water supply. Little has been done to change the water supply connection to a better water source. Only 2 drains have been unclogged to remove any copper sediment. Any exact plans as to how the removal of copper in the Texas HHSC water supply have not been confirmed or made public yet.