It often smells like that fish your dad caught and forgot about in the garage refrigerator, but that doesn’t mean Charleston water isn’t safe to drink.

Charleston received no violations following an annual test of drinking water required by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA sets standards for drinking water that limit the amount of specific contaminants in water provided by public water systems.

“As far as the quality of water for 2001, we meet or exceed all the IEPA requirements,” Bill Bosler, Charleston water superintendent, said.

Charleston last received a violation in 1996 for a high turbidity count which is the measurement of cloudiness in the water and is attributed with the quality and effectiveness of the filtration system and disinfectants.

Bosler said the annual test is in addition to daily tests performed by the Charleston water treatment plant were a certified lab facility assists the plant in monitoring levels.

“The water is safe to drink, cook with, bath in-everything,” Bosler said.

Engineers continue to draw plans for a modern facility, with the current plant built in the 60s, as Charleston determines the amount of funding needed.

“I tell people, we’re driving a 1964 Cadillac, you’re not going to have the luxury of a 2002,” Bosler said.

The new facility will have the capability of eliminating the taste and odor, but Bosler said, smelly water doesn’t mean contaminated and the odor in Charleston’s water can be attributed to the Charleston plant’s water housing.

The Charleston plant currently uses a carbon filter along with an aeration system to help reduce some of the taste and odor.

“The reason we get a taste and odor is we are a surface water treatment plant,” Bosler said.

Bosler said surface treatment plant’s reservoirs are shallower with less movement and more exposure to the sun.

Some plants, like Chicago’s, draw water from the depths of large lakes where the water continuously churns and is far from the sun. Charleston draws from a side channel reservoir (Lake Charleston) measuring an average of seven and a half feet deep and spanning 365 acres.

Each spring and fall the water temperature changes in Lake Charleston bringing mucky water from the bottom to the surface. Bosler said when the lake “rolls over” combating the odor and taste becomes more of a challenge.

But bad taste and odor are heat activated as well. Bosler said, at his home, he keeps a gallon jug full of water in the refrigerator and has no problems.

“The colder you can get it, the more it eliminates the taste and odor,” Bosler said.