Conversations across social platforms—especially Next door—have raised questions and concerns about the quality of Newburyport’s drinking water. At Blue Ribbon Water, our mission is simple: deliver clean, healthy, great‑tasting water you can trust. With hundreds of whole‑house filtration systems installed and maintained each year, we see firsthand what’s happening with our water and what to do about it.

This blog intends to explain what's going on with the most recent concerns about the taste and smell of our tap water.

Over the past few weeks, Newburyport has experienced unusually poor tap water taste and odor. The taste and odor are the result of natural conditions in the reservoir due to ice cover, amplified by the low water and drought conditions we are experiencing. When reservoirs ice over, naturally occurring organic compounds—especially geosmin and MIB—become more noticeable because they remain trapped in the water under the ice, and cannot dissipate into the air. This creates the earthy or musty taste and smell residents are reporting. Higher organic activity and reservoir turnover can also increase turbidity and particulate load, which can make manganese more noticeable.

Is the water unsafe?

Geosmin and MIB are aesthetic-only compounds. They do not pose a health risk. Our water remains safe to drink, cook with, and use normally. It just has this unpleasant earthy taste and smell. This poor taste is NOT associated with chlorine, bacteria or treatment plant failure. It is NOT related to PFAS, lead, or other regulated contaminants nor is it a health hazard.

Why the Taste Is So Strong

People are unusually sensitive to these compounds:

• Many detect them at 5 parts per trillion

• Utilities typically receive complaints around 10 parts per trillion

  
  

Will a whole-house water filter fix it?

Residential activated carbon block filters are excellent for:

• Chlorine and chloramine and byproducts reduction

• VOC reduction

• Many organic chemicals and byproducts

• Silt, sediment and particles to the pore size of the filter, including microplastics.

Under normal conditions activated carbon filtration is the solution, however, when Geosmin and MIB levels are unusually high, even good carbon filters may not remove the taste and odor completely.

I spoke with the water department on March 1 to learn more about what they are doing. They’ve been working aggressively to manage the issue and are testing the water almost daily to ensure the water remains safe. As temperatures rise, melting ice will allow the reservoir to “breathe” again, which should help normalize the water. The Water Department believes the situation is close to resolving.

As we learn more, or conditions change, we will keep this blog updated, so check back.

We welcome questions and comments and will do our best to respond here. Or email us at info@blueribbonwater.com