TYLER, Texas — Tyler Water Utilities and an engineering firm are conducting a study to determine how to improve the taste and odor quality of water that comes from Lake Palestine.
On Wednesday, the Tyler City Council approved a $120,000 contract to fund the engineering study. The effort will identify ways to improve the treatment process and address taste and odor issues that TWU customers experience when Lake Palestine has seasonal issues.
Lake Palestine Water Treatment Plant is one of two city of Tyler water treatment plants. The city said Lake Palestine has inherently high levels of geosmin because of the lake's age and the amount of natural organic matter; however, the water is safe to drink.
The plant can typically remove over 95% of the geosmin compound between the raw water and treated water samples, but the compound can be detected by people at a very low taste and odor threshold. This is why the water is treated year-round.
According to the city of Tyler, the project includes two phases. The first part seeks to review the treatment process performance, regulatory compliance, determine target water quality parameters and develop the bench-scale and pilot-scale testing plan. The second phase will execute a testing plan, analyze test results and develop recommendations for proposed improvements.
The first phase should be complete by July this year.
"We are committed to providing our customers with safe, reliable, and high-quality drinking water," said Utilities Director Kate Dietz. "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."