Residents question taste of water

MADANG town residents are questioning Water PNG over a change in the taste and smell of water supplied from the Gum River.
Water PNG Madang branch manager Patrick Jinimbo said the long dry season in the province caused a “chemical change” in the river which supplied the town and that was why people were experiencing that difference.
“This is a climate-change issue and is beyond our control,” Jinimbo said.
He said Gum River would not run dry because there was still plenty of water there.
Jinimbo said despite the difference in water’s taste, it was treated before it was supplied so consumers would not get sick from drinking or cooking with it. He also said that the low pressure in the town’s water supply experienced last week was corrected.
Jinimbo said water pressure was low because a contractor was doing maintenance at the water refinery facility at Furan outside Madang town.
He said people criticising Water PNG on social media over water issues should stop doing that and enquire at their office to get first-hand information rather than cooking up their own stories.