A senior water official in Hormozgan Province has attributed the strange taste of drinking water in Bandar Abbas to the presence of algae in reservoirs.
“The change in water taste is not a new phenomenon and happens every summer,” Amin Qassmi, managing director of Hormozgan Province Water and Wastewater Company, was also quoted as saying by the Persian-language daily Ettelaat.
He said rising temperatures provide a favorable environment for algae to grow in the reservoir of Esteqlal Minab Dam, the main source of potable water in the provincial capital Bandar Abbas.
“While the algae are filtered out during the treatment process, the taste and smell remain,” he said.
The official said eliminating the smell and taste is difficult, but reducing them is possible by increasing the share of groundwater resources in the city’s drinking water.
“We’ve talked with the Hormozgan Regional Water Authority and hope to do that,” he added.
Another factor that has made addressing the problem more challenging is the increase in water demand, which means more water from the dam enters the supply network.
“The treatment facility in Bandar Abbas does not have the capacity to ozonate such a large volume of water but we’re working on upgrading the equipment,” Qassmi said.
Ozonation is a process whereby water is treated with ozone gas in an effort to eliminate bad taste and smell. It is also said to have disinfecting properties. Qassmi reassured residents of the port city about the safety of water, emphasizing that despite “the odor and flavor, the water is safe to use”.
Home to 680,000 people, Bandar Abbas is a major port city in the Persian Gulf in southern Iran. The province in general and Bandar Abbas in particular have had problems with water pollution for a while.
According to the provincial Department of Environment, 83,000 cubic meters of untreated wastewater and sewage are dumped into the coastal waters of the city every day from the refineries and the satellite town of Hadish as well as surrounding areas.
