City aware of funky tasting water; will take time to eradicate algae
If you have noticed a somewhat “earthy” flavor to your tap water in Boerne, you are not alone.
Chris Shadrock, Boerne director of communications, said the city is well aware of the issue, knows why it is happening, and hopes the problem goes away in the coming days.
The earthy -- or “dirty” -- taste stems from the presence of a bluegreen algae in area lakewater, Shadrock said. While there is a noticeable change in the taste, the quality of water continues to meet or exceed regulatory requirements.
“We believe the weather change -- going from an extremely hot summer during a drought to cooler temperatures -- is the primary cause of the increase in bluegreen algae in our local lakes,” Shadrock said. “Since the earthy taste became noticeable, we have taken additional samples of the water, and nothing has come back indicating any issue that would be cause for concern.”
The city’s treatment process removes algae, bacteria, and other pollutants to ensure the water is safe to drink. However, as the suspected blue-green algae is filtered out during the normal treatment process it causes the change in taste that customers have experienced.
“Based on the calls received by our customer care and billing office, and there has been an uptick in the last 8-10 days, some areas of Boerne have experienced more impacts than others,” he said.
The Boerne Utilities drinking water is regularly tested, and the utilities department has made some minimal changes, with the goal of getting the affected water through the system faster, to help minimize the conditions as soon as possible.
While the city knows the problem and makes necessary adjustments, there is no precise timeline on how soon the issue will dissipate. “Ultimately, this matter will have to work itself out over time,” he said. “We continue to monitor the changes in taste/ odor and our hope is that water produced through the plant returns to ‘normal’ in the coming days.”
He said the city appreciates its customers’ cooperation and understanding while it continues to work through the blue-green algae issue The city pulls 65 percent of its water supply from Boerne Lake, 20 percent from Canyon Lake, and 15 percent from ground wells, Shadrock said. He said the city believes the algae is present at Boerne Lake, but not in the ground water or at Canyon Lake. This type of matter is rare for the utility, Shadrock said, with the last similarly persistent issue occurring in 2018.
Boerne obtains its drinking water from surface and ground water. The city owns and operates the Surface Water Treatment Plant at Boerne City Lake and nine groundwater wells. Additionally, the City purchases treated surface water from Canyon Lake through the Guadalupe- Blanco River Authority.
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