Thorsby residents not happy with yellow, nasty water coming out of their taps

THORSBY, Alta. – Putrid, nasty, undrinkable – those are just some of the ways people in the Alberta town of Thorsby are describing the water coming out of their taps.

Ashley Gilbert, who works at a local restaurant, tells CTV Edmonton that sometimes the water is coming out yellow.

Town officials are assuring everyone the water doesn’t pose a health risk.

But given that residents pay a premium for water treatment, ever since a new multimillion-dollar plant began operations five years ago, they say it’s concerning.

Deputy mayor Lloyd Jardine says with taxpayers paying top dollar for it, the town should be providing “top water.”

Thorsby has had troubles with water for decades, but this particular issue arose in the last few weeks.

It’s believed the issue could be in the town’s raw water pond.

An engineer had advised town officials that it should be cleaned every five years, although it hasn’t been cleaned since the new water plant came online and perhaps even longer.

“I’ve been here for 12 to 13 years, and I know for a fact it hasn’t been done in the last 13 years,” says Jardine.

Town officials say the pond will be dredged, and officials hope that solves the problem.

If it doesn’t, it will be a much bigger job digging up the underground pipes at a cost of as much as $10 million.