It takes all of us to knock out drought, particularly one that has gripped the southwestern United States for some time now.

On rare occasion, however, your water may have an unusual taste, odor or appearance. Fortunately, aesthetic issues don’t always mean the water has become unsafe. A quick call to your water provider may reveal the cause of the issue.

It’s nearly impossible to anticipate exactly when an emergency might occur and how they might impact us, but we can plan to try to minimize any inconvenience.

Whatever the cause of the residents’ symptoms, it’s worth taking a moment to consider why water utilities monitor for arsenic in drinking water. Arsenic is tasteless and odorless, and occurs naturally in the Earth’s soils, rocks and minerals. It’s also used in industry as a wood preservative, in paints, metals, drugs and for a variety of other purposes. It is lethal in very high doses. You can learn more in the AWWA book Plain Talk about Drinking Water.