uReport

City of Bloomington, Indiana

closed: Resolved #181318

Water Quality:

Other: The water is so terrible tasting and smelling that my family cannot drink it! We were forced to buy water. How long will this last? The foul smell and taste happens nearly every year. With CBU being the only source of potable water in Bloomington, there is no alternative! We are having to spend our limited resources to get drinkable water. We should at least get a decrease in water charges if CBU is unable to correct the issue permanently.

Assigned to
Tyler Steury

History

9/26/2022 13:49:44 Closed by Tyler Steury

The taste and odor event has passed.

Sent notification to Tyler Steury, Anonymous
https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=181318 Closed by Tyler Steury The taste and odor event has passed.

9/1/2022 16:25:17 Tyler Steury contacted Anonymous

Jennifer, I apologize for the unpleasant taste and odor we’re currently experiencing with our drinking water. Unfortunately this is a system wide issue. The warm and dry weather recently has resulted in an increase in algae in Lake Monroe. This algae produces geosmin and methylisoborneol (MIB), which cause taste and odor issues with the drinking water. Our treatment system is able to control and filter the algae itself, but the compounds they produce in the lake are very difficult to control in a conventional water treatment plant in high amounts, and so at times they persist after treatment. Although the water is unpleasant to drink, these compounds are not a health concern, they are an aesthetic issue which is not uncommon for communities using lakes as their water source. There are certain steps we're taking to try to eliminate the issue, such as increasing the amount of powdered activated carbon, sodium permanganate and copper sulfate that we add to the water to control algae and help with taste and odor issues. As the weather cools down the algae will return to normal levels. We’re continually testing the water for many different quality parameters in multiple sites in our distribution system and at our water treatment plant to ensure the water continues to be safe to drink. I apologize for this inconvenience, but we are working to correct the issue. You are welcome to call or email with any questions. Tyler Steury City of Bloomington Utilities Water Quality Coordinator steuryt@bloomington.in.gov (812) 349-3655 office (812) 361-7774 cell

Sent notification to Tyler Steury, Anonymous
https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=181318 Tyler Steury contacted Jennifer Blythe Jennifer, I apologize for the unpleasant taste and odor we’re currently experiencing with our drinking water. Unfortunately this is a system wide issue. The warm and dry weather recently has resulted in an increase in algae in Lake Monroe. This algae produces geosmin and methylisoborneol (MIB), which cause taste and odor issues with the drinking water. Our treatment system is able to control and filter the algae itself, but the compounds they produce in the lake are very difficult to control in a conventional water treatment plant in high amounts, and so at times they persist after treatment. Although the water is unpleasant to drink, these compounds are not a health concern, they are an aesthetic issue which is not uncommon for communities using lakes as their water source. There are certain steps we're taking to try to eliminate the issue, such as increasing the amount of powdered activated carbon, sodium permanganate and copper sulfate that we add to the water to control algae and help with taste and odor issues. As the weather cools down the algae will return to normal levels. We’re continually testing the water for many different quality parameters in multiple sites in our distribution system and at our water treatment plant to ensure the water continues to be safe to drink. I apologize for this inconvenience, but we are working to correct the issue. You are welcome to call or email with any questions. Tyler Steury City of Bloomington Utilities Water Quality Coordinator steuryt@bloomington.in.gov (812) 349-3655 office (812) 361-7774 cell

9/1/2022 16:22:11 Anonymous assigned this case to Tyler Steury

Sent notification to Tyler Steury, Anonymous
https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=181318 Anonymous assigned this case to Tyler Steury You can use the link to follow progress on this case.

9/1/2022 16:22:11 Opened by Anonymous

4189 W Chisholm TRL

CityBloomington
StateIN
Zip47403
Latitude39.130302429199
Longitude-86.586776733398
TownshipVan Buren

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