Greensboro residents who noticed their tap water tasting, smelling or looking a little strange this week weren’t just imagining it.

The Greensboro Water Resources Department says that two separate maintenance operations disrupted the city’s water system in recent days, prompting 15 to 20 customer complaints, mostly from the central part of Greensboro.

City officials say that despite the changes in taste, smell or appearance, the water remains safe to drink.

“We’ve received 15 to 20 calls in recent days from customers located mostly in the central part of the city,” Water Resources Director Mike Borchers said. “These numbers are higher than usual and can be attributed to maintenance from one of our suppliers.”

The most recent disruption came on Tuesday, Sept. 22, when the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority stopped supplying water to Greensboro while it repaired the transmission line that carries water to the city.

The Water Authority restored service the following day, but Water Resources officials said stopping and restarting the flow had a ripple effect on Greensboro’s distribution system, particularly for customers served by the Mitchell Water Treatment Plant.

At the same time, Greensboro Water Resources was conducting maintenance on a storage tank in the eastern part of the city.

That work began  on Thursday, Sept. 17.  It required the department to alter its normal operations. The regularly scheduled tank maintenance was completed Thursday, Sept. 24.

“Any time there is a significant disturbance to the system, there’s potential for a change in water quality,” Borchers said. “Such disruptions can impact water pressure and stir up sediment built up in pipes, which can alter the water’s taste, smell, and appearance.”

Greensboro sent three flushing crews out this week to work in areas where customers had reported water-quality changes.

The city recommends that customers experiencing problems run cold water for several minutes through a faucet that doesn’t have an aerator – such as an outside spigot or bathtub faucet – until the water clears or otherwise returns to normal.

The problem occurred in a large water system.

Greensboro’s Mitchell and Townsend treatment plants normally treat and deliver about 35.9 million gallons of water per day to nearly 320,000 customers. Water from Lake Brandt is treated at the Mitchell plant while water from Lake Townsend is treated at the Townsend plant. Greensboro also supplements its own water supply through connections with other utilities, including the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority.

Water Resources regularly deals with sediment in the distribution system even when there isn’t an unusual disruption.

The department has an ongoing unidirectional flushing and swabbing program designed to remove accumulated sediment from water lines. Before that work, the city warns residents that they can temporarily experience discolored water, changes in taste or odor and lower water pressure – even though the water remains safe.

That preventative maintenance program is continuing in portions of Greensboro this year and is scheduled to expand to other portions of the water system in 2027.

For those customers affected by this week’s disruption, Water Resources recommends running cold water for at least several minutes before using appliances like washing machines, dishwashers or ice makers if the water is visibly discolored.

Residents whose water doesn’t return to normal or who need to report a water or sewer emergency can contact the Water Resources Department’s 24-hour dispatch line at 336-373-2033.

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