Residents of Fargo may have noticed their tap water smelling and tasting abnormal and off lately.

Jodi Kosienski, a worker at the Fargo Water Treatment Plant, said the high amounts of snow melting, which has been occurring over the previous few warm weeks, is the source of the problem.

The melting has led to high amounts of runoff into the Red River where the water treatment plant gets its water. The runoff water is full of mossy organic matter, which leads to a change in the water’s smell and taste.

To adjust for the organic matter, the water treatment plant has increased the amount of carbon and other chemicals that are already typically used in water treatment.

This carbon is added in an effort to help with the taste and odor.

The water is “perfectly safe” for consumption and daily use.

KVRR reported the only reason for the sudden change is because this is typically an issue addressed in spring, when melting and runoff more often occur, but because of the warm weather it’s happening now.

The recent flooding is also responsible for Monday’s evacuation of the library, when a student called 911 to report the smell of rotten eggs.

WDAY reported police and firemen arrived at the library as a precaution after everybody was evacuated from the building.

The fire department concluded that the smell came from dried out sewer traps. After runoff water had gone through them, they had produced a strong odor of rotten eggs, which is the same as that of natural gas.

This is also a common problem the fire department reports getting calls for about this time of the year.

These temporary problems will be resolved within a few days and the water will be back to normal. Until then, people can expect a carbon or mossy taste in their water bottles.