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Comment by webkike | Hacker News Reader

If your water is literally smelly than it is either something wrong with your pipes or psychosomatic. I can't imagine that the entire city of San Diego is distributing water that has an odor. I have never had this problem in San Diego. I would suggest calling the city if this is truly a problem.

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Smell is not an indication of danger.

Municipal water in Florida often has the smell of sulfur, due to the presence of sulfur -- and if I'm remembering correctly, a relative who works at the state equivalent of the EPA told me that it's common in coastal areas due to byproducts of bacteria in the water table. But it's completely harmless.

I can only speak for Florida, though.

I like drinking tap water back home in Orlando. The smell/taste is different but, well, it reminds me of home.

Water in Orlando, FL is pretty terrible. It has a sulfuric and metallic taste and smell. It's perfectly safe to drink and bathe in, the smell doesn't stay on your skin, but it's gross. Do a quick google search for water quality in orlando, or sulfur or smelly water in Orlando. You'll find tons of results on travel forums from people visiting Disney ask if it's safe to drink the tap water at parks or in their hotels because of it.

I'm guessing that water in San Diego is the absolute stalest you can get in the US. The water San Diego receives is either piped over the mountains from Arizona or comes from way upstate...after Los Angeles has their pick.

There is no doubt that it is not good water. It is so high in salt content that the avocado growers complain about using it. If all you're doing is trying to stay alive then by all means, drink up.

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