Officials: Tyler Continues Work to Improve Drinking Water Quality

TYLER — In the wake of concerns that emerged last year, Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) has made several process changes to improve its water quality since November, according to a city news release. Those include increasing the use of ozone, enhanced coagulation, and the addition of sodium hydroxide in the water treatment process. The increased use of ozone at the Lake Palestine Water Treatment Plant was a recommendation from Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd, Inc. (eHT). That firm was hired by the Mayor and City Manager to evaluate Tyler Water Utilities’ processes.

Officials say ozone is used to reduce precursor organics related to the formation of problematic disinfection byproducts. Additionally, it has improved water quality by reducing taste and odor-related complaints, according to officials.“TWU continues to research ways to reduce disinfection byproducts and improve water quality by utilizing ozone,” said Environmental Compliance Engineer Clayton Nicolardi in the news release.

The second treatment strategy implemented is enhanced coagulation. Officials say this process, like ozone, is used to enhance the removal of precursor organics prior to the addition of disinfectants often associated with the production of regulated byproducts. The results thus far have been promising, according to city staff.

The third change made by the Utilities Department was the addition of sodium hydroxide feeding capabilities at the Lake Palestine Water Treatment Plant in November of last year. Sodium hydroxide is used primarily to improve water stability by increasing the pH and alkalinity of drinking water, thus reducing the potential for corrosivity which can lead to increased levels of lead and copper, officials say. City Manager Ed Broussard says this change has shown significant improvement as documented by recent test results collected at five sampling locations. Broussard says Tyler is now in compliance with standards set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for lead and copper.

In response to these positive results at the Lake Palestine Water Treatment Plant, TWU began the process of implementing the same treatment strategy at its Golden Road Water Treatment Plant. Due to the age of the plant, certain modifications had to be completed prior to implementing the use of sodium hydroxide, according to city officials. This week, operators and crews are working on the last phase with the installation of the necessary feeding equipment. The most recent test results for the current quarter for haleocetic acids show that all sampling locations fell below the maximum limit permitted, according to the news release. Mayor Martin Heines says he’s “very pleased with the progress that is being made thus far,” pointing that there’s still a lot of work to do.