First there was drought, now there's stench.

Some of the city of Atlanta's 1.2 million water customers are having to hold their noses and gulp down the stinky H2O flowing from their faucets the last couple of days.

Reports of smelly, funny tasting drinking water began pouring into the city's Department of Watershed Management on Friday.

Department officials blame the problem on "reservoir turnover," and say the water is safe to drink.

Resevoir turnover occurs when colder water heats up and rises, bring with it a lot of sediment and alge, spokeswoman Janet Ward said on Sunday.

Carbon filtration, an extra purification step, is being used but officials can't say for sure when the water will be odor free.

"The problem should be corrected soon," Ward said. "But the water is perfectly safe. It's gone through the water treatment process."

The odor issue doesn't affect all customers and isn't confined to any particular area of the city, she said.

The last time stinky water complaints surfaced was three or four years ago, Ward said.

Atlanta serves customers in the city, Sandy Springs and unincorporated south Fulton.