By far the most common cause of smelly water is bacteria that is in some water and it's

this bacteria that reacts with other minerals in your water as well as the aluminum
anodes in your water heater that creates the hydrogen sulfide gas, making the rotten
egg and sewer odor that you smell in your water.
The problem is most common in well systems, either private or municipal.
Softening using a conventional salt based water softener can make smelly water much
worse.
I see customers purchase thousands of dollars worth of water filtering equipment to rid
their water of this odor and it would not help most of the time.
The most common odor complaint "Rotten Egg Smell" is derived from Hydrogen Sulfide
Gas dissolved in the water. Concentrations as little as 1 ppm, can result in this odor.
Most often "smelly water" will be noticed with well water or when a water heater has not
been used for a long time allowing the accumulation of this hydrogen sulfide gas. Active
use of the water heater may reduce the problem.
The smell is an effect of four factors that must all be present for the odor to develop.
These factors include:
A high concentration of sulfate in the raw water
Sulfate reducing bacteria, non-toxic to humans (sulfate is reduced to a sulfide state by
the bacteria)
Little or no dissolved oxygen in the water. Hydrogen (a component of water may be
present due to water conditions reacting with the anode).
With these factors the hydrogen and sulfur combine to form the hydrogen sulfide gas
that gives off the rotten egg, smelly, odor to the water.
A water heater has at least one anode rod for corrosion protection. Sulfur odor can most
easily be eliminated by replacing the anode(s) with one of less active material
(Aluminum) and then chlorinating the water heater tank and all hot water lines with a
household bleach.
Replacing the Anode Rod can reduce hydrogen ions and eliminate the sulfate reducing
bacteria introduced into the water heater through the water supply, therefore "smelly
water" can be eliminated.
Chlorination of your water heater may help for a short time or for water heaters where
the "smelly water" condition only occurs when the water heater has not been in use for a
long time. We also recommend "Flushing" the tank every year to remove calcium
sediment in the tanks bottom.
A long-term resolution may require chlorination of your well or water supply into the
home.
Reverse osmosis

A reverse osmosis treatment system usually consists of a semipermeable membrane,

water storage tank and dispensing faucet. This system can remove inorganic chemicals
and is often combined with an activated carbon filter to remove chlorine and organic
chemicals.
Filters
Filters containing activated aluminum oxide have recently appeared on the market.
These devices are used to remove heavy metals, particularly lead from drinking water.
Distillation
Distillation systems are commonly used to reduce the levels of all chemicals in drinking
water. These systems boil water in one compartment and condense the vapour and
collect it in another. Distillation systems are effective for the removal of both organic and
inorganic chemicals but are often combined with activated carbon for the removal of
certain "volatile" chemicals (e.g. Trihalomethanes, tetrachloroethylene). There are no
known beneficial, nor harmful health effects associated with the ingestion of
demineralized or distilled water.
Adsorption / Active Carbon
Activated carbon filtration is a commonly used technology based on the adsorption of
contaminants onto the surface of a filter. This method is effective in removing certain
organics (such as unwanted taste and odours, micropollutants), chlorine, fluorine or
radon from drinking water or wastewater. However, it is not effective for microbial
contaminants, metals, nitrates and other inorganic contaminants. The adsorption
efficiency depends on the nature of activated carbon used, the water composition, and
operating parameters. There are many types of activated carbon filters that can be
designed for household, community and industry requirements. Activated carbon filters
are relatively easy to install but require energy and skilled labour and can have high
costs due to regular replacement of the filter material.
Adsorption is a process where a solid is used for removing a soluble substance from the
water. In this process active carbon is the solid. Activated carbon is produced specifically
so as to achieve a very big internal surface (between 500 - 1500 m2/g). This big internal
surface makes active carbon ideal for adsorption. Active carbon comes in two variations:
Powder Activated Carbon (PAC) and Granular Activated Carbon (GAC).
Water is pumped in a column which contains active carbon, this water leaves the column
through a draining system. The activity of an active carbon column depends on the
temperature and the nature of the substances. Water goes through the column
constantly, which gives an accumulation of substances in the filter. For that reason the
filter needs to be replace periodically. A used filter can be regenerated in different ways,
granular carbon can be regenerated easily by oxidizing the organic matter. The efficiency
of the active carbon decreases by 5 - 10% 1). A small part of the active carbon is
destroyed during the regeneration process and must be replaced. If you work with
different columns in series, you can assure that you will not have a total exhaustion of
your purification system.
Aeration