It is impossible to hide that something is wrong with Rio de Janeiro's tap water. It has been like this- dirty, smelly and foul tasting- for over two weeks now, especially in the city's poor neighborhoods.

Rio Police are investigating whether human error, natural causes or even sabotage could be responsible for the problem after the state government said the situation was unacceptable.

Rio’s public water utility, Cedae, said the water was affected by "geosmin," a harmless organic compound but consumers are not taking any chances.  

Celia Tavares said she fell sick after drinking tap water. "We can’t drink that water. I already felt bad and had a stomach ache. No way."

"The water is dirty, muddy, smells bad even when we shower. How can we drink it?", said Daniele Ponciano, another resident of Rio's poor North zone,

And the solution has been to buy bottled mineral water that is expensive and has become difficult to find.

The origin of the problem is at the Guandu Treatment Plant, which receives the highly polluted waters of the river of the same name and is responsible for supplying water to some nine million Rio residents.

Mario Moscatelli, a biologist and environmentalist who has been monitoring Rio's water pollution for decades, says the three tributaries that flow into the river bring huge amounts of chemicals and sewage sludge. "It was a foretold tragedy. The situation has been getting worse in the last twenty, thirty years and it is a time bomb. We cannot say for sure that this water is or will be safe, but what we do know is that the plant was built to treat water not sewage."

To ease public fears, Cedae, the water utility, which is among the companies included in Brazil's privatization plan, said the water supply from the Guandu river will be treated with powdered activated carbon. But it is hard to predict, environmentalists say, when and if, the state of the water will go back to normal.