Carbon is an amazing element. Not only does it have two allotropic forms which differ from each other in all possible manners, which are graphite and diamond, it possesses some of the most unique qualities. Carbon has some really extraordinary features and one of them is that it is able to remove 
odours as well as certain chemicals.
There are many other things that are used for water purification. On a large scale, when water is being purified to supply to homes, the processes used are on a very large scale. The first thing that is done is that water is sediment: that way the debris and floating material is removed. It is also passed through filter beds to remove the smaller impurities, and after that it is treated with chlorine. Chlorine is a very good agent for killing germs and microbes present in the water. It may even be fluorinated, but that depends on the water purification procedure which is different for every city.
If you are a person who loves swimming, then you will know that chlorine is used in rather large amounts in the swimming pool water, and this gives it a distinctive smell. The water that is supplied for drinking has smaller chlorine content, but this does add a smell and taste to the water.
This water, bearing the stink of chorine, is probably perfectly fine for chores like washing, or bathing, but when it comes to using this water for drinking purposes, or for use in the food, this can e a problem. Earlier, there was no getting rid of it, but now science has figured out a very good way to remove all these smells, and taste from water and that way is known as activated carbon water treatment. As the name suggests, the water is treated with carbon which is scientific terms is “activated”. This is a very effective agent. What activated carbon water treatment does is that it absorbs all the odours present in the water, and helps remove the chlorine which has served the purpose it was supposed to: killing harmful bacteria.
In most water purification plants activated carbon water treatment is used to make sure that the water provided to the consumers is of satisfactory quality, and can be used for drinking purposes easily. However if you feel that the water you are getting in your houses has a smell, then you can always get activated carbon water treatment filters installed in your homes so that you always get good quality water.