Smelly and foul-tasting tap water which sparked complaints in Arbroath is safe to drink, residents have been told.
Scottish Water insists there is no danger to health following complaints after essential work was carried out to improve the local network.
It says the problem will rapidly settle down and the water should be getting back to normal.
The water problem left many locals with a foul taste in their mouths and also affected some local businesses.
The issue came to light after some residents began to complain their tap water smelled terrible and tasted even worse on Wednesday evening and into Thursday.
Local businessman Harry Simpson was among those who complained to Scottish Water. He said he had to run to spit out a glass of tap water because it tasted so disgusting.
“I made a cup of coffee and just couldn’t drink it,” he said. “I thought there had been dirty water left in the dishwater.
“The coffee tasted horrible so I poured a glass of tap water into a tumbler. I took it through and took a sip and had to go running through the house to spit it out.
“The smell was foul and the taste was terrible. I’ve never tasted anything like that before. It was so strong and so bitter.Disgusting”It actually smelled like TCP it was just disgusting.”
The problem also affected small businesses including cafes and eateries. The busy Morrisons supermarket had to stop serving hot drinks for a while.
One customer said: “The coffee just didn’t taste proper, although you could drink it. It just had a slightly bitter aftertaste. The staff were fantastic and I believe they stopped serving not long afterwards.”
A spokesman for Scottish Water said: “We are doing work in and around Arbroath to improve the water pressure and reduce leakage in the network. As part of this work there may be some slight changes to the taste of the water.
“This is due to the network being recalibrated and as a result of the water supply settling back down after being worked on overnight. We are installing a new type of valve which will help maximise our resources and we will lose less to leakage.
“The water is completely safe to drink and the taste should return to normal within 48 hours at the latest.
“We have received a very small number of calls from the Lochlands area earlier today from customers who stated the water tasted different to normal. This will rapidly settle down.
“We apologise for any inconvenience to our customers and we thank them for their patience while we carry out this essential work.”
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