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What's behind the taste and smell of city's water?

By Ethan Sandweiss

Posted September 1, 2022

Faucet stock image

(Matthew Bowden / Wikimedia Commons)

City of Bloomington Utilities customers have noticed their drinking water may taste and smell like lake water. Utilities officials say the taste and scent pose no risk to public health.

The culprits for Bloomington’s musty water are two organic compounds: methylisoborneol (MIB) and geosmin. Both chemicals are produced by blue-green algae, blooms of which are currently present in Bloomington’s main water source, Lake Monroe, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

What can be done to remove these compounds from tap water?

“Just letting the weather change, then letting that water that tastes funky circulate out of the system,” said Holly McLauchlin, communications manager for CBU. “It’s not something we have any control over.”

CBU regularly received complaints in the late summer for bad-tasting water until 2017, when it began using powdered activated carbon in its treatment process, the same material used in home appliances, like Brita filters. Originally added in response to disinfection byproducts, powdered activated carbon had the unintended benefit of improving the city water’s taste.

That changed in September 2021, when hot, dry weather spiked MIB and geosmin levels beyond what the treatment process could remove.

McLauchlin said at the time CBU saw that spike as an anomaly, but since the distinctive taste returned in 2022, the city may begin researching methods to combat it. Since the maximum effective level of powdered activated carbon is already being used, McLauchlin said additional filtering at home will only do so much.

CBU water data
MIB and geosmin levels spiked September 2021 but receded as temperatures dropped.


McLauchlin said CBU has no plans to change its treatment process. If weather conditions improve, MIB and geosmin levels will subside naturally, although it may take as long as a week for better-tasting water from the treatment plan to reach the taps of distant customers.

“This is where water treatment research and best practices come in,” McLauchlin said. “Balancing what’s financially feasible versus having a few days of lake taste once a year.”

A post on CBU’s website suggests customers mask the taste and smell of their water by filling a pitcher with lemon or fruit wedges and storing it in the refrigerator.

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