Kentucky residents report bad taste, smell in drinking water - WBKO
Kentucky residents report bad taste, smell in drinking water
Why water treatment experts say it’s a common occurrence this time of year
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - The seasons are changing, and with them are the water sources used to provide drinking water.
It’s called “turnover.”
Lake turnover is described as the seasonal mixing of the entire water column.
When this happens, it can cause some oxygen to be depleted at the bottom of the lake by bacteria, which consumes dead algae that sinks to the lake floor.
This can happen multiple times throughout the year and impact your drinking water because water treatment plants take water from lakes and rivers.
Perry Alexander with Cadiz Water Plant says along with turnover, weather can play a role in how drinking water tastes after treatment.
“When you leave summer and come into fall, if you have a long hot dry spell, and you know water levels drop, and things having to water will slip,” he said. “And when it does that it can cause taste and odor issues.”
According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, it was very dry throughout the fall season, especially in Hopkinsville.
Hopkinsville barely reported any precipitation, except for on Monday Nov. 20 with 1.28 inches of rain.
Around that time, some residents, especially in Hopkinsville and Cadiz, reported odd tastes and smells coming from their drinking water.
The culprit for this issue was deemed by both local and state water officials to be a nearby water source.
The Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority pulls water from Lake Barkley, and Cadiz water plant says they pull water from Little River, which empties into Lake Barkley.
“The water is bacteriologically safe to drink. Not only do we test it here multiple times throughout the day at the plant, but also send off about 12 to 15 samples twice a month to a state certified private lab in Madisonville,” Alexander said.
HWEA and other water districts experiencing this issue stated they have been flushing their hydrants to freshen the water.
“We have overflowed our tanks, flush them out,” Alexander said. “We’re doing flushing of hydrants and continuing to do that it’s just going take a little time.”
Water treatment plants are often required by the state and federal government to test water prior to distribution.
There are also multiple steps in the water treatment process, from chemical addition being mixed into the water to disinfection of the water before it’s stored and then distributed.
Both Christian County Water District, who purchases water from HWEA, and the Cadiz Water Plant say they had their water tested that it met or exceeded all the tests needed.
“While the change in taste may be noticeable to some, the water is safe to drink and meets or exceeds all State and Federal drinking water regulations,” Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority stated in a release posted on Facebook.
Right now, there are no state or federal regulations for taste and smell, and water treatment experts say it’s difficult to remove or fix with today’s treatment methods.
Some may have noticed the taste and smell go away, some may have not. Alexander says they have not noticed a smell in the raw water at Cadiz Water Plant anymore. Water districts say it’s hard to tell how long it can last.
This won’t be the last time you might experience this bad taste and smell from your drinking water. Lake turnovers happen at least twice a year in the Spring and Fall.
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