Some Tap Water in S’pore Smells Like Pandan; PUB Has Since Responded

By
George Yang
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Pandan smell is goody; it’s even better if it comes from pandan waffles.

But imagine you’re boiling tap water and you smell pandan from your kettle. You either freak out or you’d check if there’s a pandan leaf in your kettle.

And when you’re not alone, that’s when you realise it’s time to call the authorities.

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Boiled Tap Water Has Pandan Smell

Imagine boiling tap water in your kitchen and ten minutes later, your kitchen smells like the interior of a taxi.

While it’d help to remove all cockroaches in your house, you’d wonder: what’s wrong with the water? Why hasn’t it turned green?

Well, National water agency PUB has responded, and it’s nothing to do with your sense of smell or your kettle.

Recently, the stat board has been receiving feedback from residents in several parts of Singapore, including but not limited to Pasir Ris, Tampines and of course, Yishun.

According to the residents, there would be a faint pandan smell after they’ve boiled the tap water.

And it turns out that our dear friends up north have the same problem; Malaysian media has reported last Thursday that residents in Johor Baru experienced the same phenomenon, too.

Water is Still Safe

PUB has taken water samples and tested them in their laboratories, and the cat is out of the bag.

Image: Tenor

The culprit is tetrahydrofuran (THF), a type of organic compound. According to solventis.net, it’s a clear, colourless, volatile, and water-miscible liquid, and is used in the industrial marketplace as a solvent.

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Wait, what?

Image: Tenor

But fret not; in the tests PUB did, they found just 10 parts per billion of tetrahydrofuran (THF). PUB said the that it “may be detected by customers with a keen sense of smell or palate, but is otherwise without any adverse health effects in trace amounts.”

The water supply, even without boiling, remains safe to drink.

Their investigations also show that the source of compound appears to be linked to water imported from Malaysia. They added, “PUB has taken immediate action to isolate the affected water pending further investigation, and is working with the Malaysian authorities on this matter. We expect that this issue should be resolved by Thursday.”

In the meantime, if you still don’t feel comfortable drinking water that smells like pandan, you can request for water bags by calling the PUB hotline on 1800-225-5782. If you live in Bishan, there’s 10 in a billion chances of taking an image with a former General!

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]