South Texas water treatment plant eliminates taste and odor issues and saves money controlling cyanobacteria.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Summer is peak cyanobacteria season for water treatment plants. This means taste and odor complaints. Controlling taste and odor problems while keeping costs under control can be difficult. A South Texas water treatment plant found a way to do both.

The plant treats 50 million gallons of water per day for three cities. During a period of intense drought, operators struggled to control runaway cyanobacteria blooms. Thick mats floated in clarifiers and clogged filters. Divers were called in to remove growth on steel structures. At peak demand, the plant was using 100 pounds of copper sulfate and 5,000 pounds of powdered active carbon (PAC) per day for taste and odor reduction.

“They were basically pouring money into the water for minimal returns,” said David Carrington, Business Manager for Earth Science Laboratories (ESL). “The situation was already critical when they reached out to us. We acted quickly to reduce the need for more costly treatments.”

ESL used its proprietary algaecide/bactericide to kill cyanobacteria and control taste-and-odor-causing compounds. The savings from reduced copper sulfate and PAC use more than offset the cost of ESL’s treatment. Over one season, the plant saved $3,500 per day.

The full case study is available at https://earthtecwatertreatment.com/case-studies.

Earth Science Laboratories Inc. manufactures advanced water treatment products, including EarthTec^® Algaecide/Bactericide*. EarthTec is NSF Certified to ANSI Standard 60 for use in drinking water. It is EPA registered and approved for use in open waters and pipelines. More information is available at earthtecwatertreatment.com.

*Nonpublic health bacteria