Tyler to conduct water quality study

TYLER – Tyler city officials announced Wednesday a contract has been approved for an engineering study on water quality from Lake Palestine. According to our news partners KETK, the $120,000 contract with HDR Engineering, Inc. partnering with Tyler Water Utilities is to create a study meant to “identify ways to enhance the treatment process and address the taste and odor issues that TWU customers experience when Lake Palestine experiences seasonal issues.”

The city said in their release that the lake has high levels of Geosmin. Geosmin is a naturally occurring compound, that may raise concerns on water quality. This may be more of an issue due to the age of the lake and the amount of natural organic matter in it.

“The water is safe to drink and continues to meet or exceed all Federal and State water quality standards,” the release said. “The water treatment plant can typically remove more than 95% of the Geosmin compound between the raw water and treated water samples. However, geosmin is detectable by humans at a very low taste and odor threshold, which is why it is treated year-round.”

The first portion of the project is set to be complete by July. That part will evaluate treatment process performance, regulatory compliance, determine target water quality parameters and develop the bench-scale and pilot-scale testing plan. The projects second portion will execute the testing plan, analyze test results and future recommendations for projected improvements.

TWU Director Kate Dietz said, “We are committed to providing our customers with safe, reliable and high-quality drinking water. This study will help us identify ways to improve the taste and odor of our water and ensure that we continue to meet our customers’ needs.”