I went to Waco to eat last night for the first time in about 10 years and my tea tasted like something that had been scraped off the bottom of a dirty aquarium. I asked for another glass and the waiter said it wouldnt do any good....said because of the water it all tastes like ass.


Is it honestly always that bad?

Yes it is always that way, Waco is the only place that I can think of that I always drink from a bottle (water or beer) and never order tea anymore. The water is nasty.

lots of dairy farms right up stream on the brazos. waco's water is perfect for fertilizing your yard but terrible to drink.

I was at a fast food place near Baylor, a guy (obviously travelling and stopped for lunch) getting a self serve drink in front of my fills his cup, takes a drink, then pours it out. I told him it won't do any good to pick another flayor, it's the water. After getting something else, he believed me.

It isn't too bad YET and actually it isn't related to the phosphorous from the dairies. The lake water turns over and in that process it tastes and smells like dead fishy swamp water.....it is usually related to excessive heat and sunlight during the summers, don't know why it is bad right now.

I have had patients bring their own water even to wash their faces with when Lake Waco is really bad.

EMY92 - that's funny!

Sorry ,lakes in Texas do not turn over. It doesn't get cold enough.

The water in Waco taste bad because of the algea. The big construction project below the dam is supposed to alleviate the problem.

it is horrible.

you can even go into a public restroom anywhere in waco, and that sewage stench from the water is prevalent. (no, it's not just typical bathroom stench)

I couldn't believe how bad it was. Ruined the taste of my meal. The bowl of beans I had tasted exactly like the tea. There's no way that water is completely healthy to drink.

Other than the taste there is nothing unheathly about the water. And Again there is no sewage involved.

Anything with that much of a sewage smell/taste can't possibly be ok to drink.

People have been drinking it for decades and there haven't been any adverse health conditions, other than turning most of them Baptist.

Seriously, there should be some sort of sign in a restaurant that doesn't use filtered water, explaining that your first sip of iced tea is going to make you gag.

Even filters don't combat the Waco water. It's like the BO from the valet on Seinfeld.

What makes it worse is the insane prices the city charges for it. My wife and I pay close to $60 a month in a two BR apt where it's just us. That's only a few bucks shy of what my parents pay in a house with 4 people in it.

Geosmin and 2-MIB. Google them if you dare. It's not a Waco-only problem, but damn if we don't seem to have all the right conditions to produce some WRONG-smelling water!!!

Here's a great one: Put ice from your Waco tap-supplied ice maker into a glass and pour in Coke. By the time you get the glass to your lips, you'll put it down, repulsed by the smell.

Just remember what your complaining about this summer when all the towns and cities in Texas are water rationing.

you get used to it

I lived in Waco for 3 glorious years. I concur. The water sucks.

IMO, Killeen is worse.

When the wife and I went to the Tamu-bu game we went to eat at Logans and long story short...I could NOT drink ANYTHING there. I ordered tea, couldn't drink it. I ordered sprite then thinking it would be okay....nope. The ice in sprite tasted like it...it tasted like what sewage smells like, if that makes any bit of sense. It was absolutely terrible, hell I'm from West and I can't remember going to resturaunts and other places in Waco and it being that bad...it was just so downright terrible. Oh well, another thing to hate about Waco.

Mom, the problem is absolutely caused by the dairies. And, your wonderful TCEQ refuses to enforce the current regulations or pass new ones which will help alleviate the problem.

The phosphorus feeds the algae, which blooms and then dies. As it dies it decays and releases geosmin, which causes the taste and odor problem. The amount of science and studies that support what I'm saying is, literally, overwhelming and unanimous. Tarleton State even agrees.

It's expensive as hell to treat, and he city does a fantastic job dealing with the problem. Waco water is some of the safest in the state, thanks to the good Ags who run things paying such close attention to it. But above a certain threshold of geosmin, the taste and odor problem can't be treated any more with the current system. That's why the new plant is going in.

Unfortunately, local taxpayers are paying for the treatment costs and the new plant while the dairymen who are causing the problem are raking in money.

I'm no environmentalist, and certainly have nothing against the livestock industry, but this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Those of you who care need to be pressuring Doc, Kip and Jim to crack down on TCEQ.

Well luckily Waco is spending $40M on new water treatment...