Elmore County residents report foul smelling, tasting tap water - WSFA
Elmore County residents report foul smelling, tasting tap water
ELMORE COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - Some Elmore County residents are reporting issues with odor and a strange taste from their tap water.
WSFA 12 News went to the source to figure to find out what’s happening, the Central Elmore Water and Sewer Authority, or CEW&SA, which says it’s among the first in the central Alabama area to experience the issues.
It’s been working on an economical solution since 2013.
As it turns out, both the odor and taste from the tap is the result of two naturally occurring compounds called Geosmin and MIB. Neither of these compounds is toxic or harmful, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, meaning it’s safe to drink.
Both compounds are found in the cells of algae in surface water, which is in Lake Martin and Lake Jordan, and it’s typically seasonal for the summer and fall.
CEW&SA has Auburn University conduct monthly tests, and more of the algae has been found over the last year when levels reached a threshold that humans could detect. In fact, June samples show both were at levels six times higher than found in the last decade of monitoring.
- Geosmin and MIB typically produces an earthy or musty odor, and is present in some foods such as beets, spinach, and mushrooms
- The human nose is very sensitive to Geosmin. How sensitive? You could still smell it if a teaspoon of the compound was poured into the equivalent of 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools!
- Heating the water increases the volatility of these compounds. That explains why the smell is more easily detected when you’re in the shower or making hot beverages.
Leaders say in May that its board of directors approved plans to build a Granular Activated Carbon, or “GAC” system to help.
“It’s basically the same filter that you’ve got in your refrigerator,” explained CEW&SA General Manager Chad Shaw. “It’s a carbon-based filter, and it will trap the Geosmin and the MIB. After the two year study, it was noticed that the numbers, it significantly reduced the numbers between the raw water and the finished water.”
The system will cost about $6 million, and leaders hope federal funds will help supplement the cost.
Officials say the plans still need to be completed, then the project can be bid on, so it likely won’t be until late in 2025 before any construction begins.
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