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Cape Town's water is safe for consumption despite its earthy taste, the city said on Tuesday.
"The water is perfectly fit for human consumption," spokesman Peter Flower said in a statement.
The taste and odour were caused by Geosmin in the Theewaterskloof Dam, from where the city drew its water.
Geosmin is a naturally occurring compound found in rivers and dams and is produced by blue-green algae when it dies.
"It could be caused by the inflow of nutrients to the dam following heavy rainfalls, which increases the growth of the blue-green algae," he said.
The city had begun treating the water in the dam with powdered activated carbon to return the concentration of Geosmin to below the normal human taste and smell threshold level, Flower said.