Saturday, June 8, 2002
The agency's chief engineer says the water is safe to drink.
By AMY HOUSLEY
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- Recent changes in the taste and odor of water provided by the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District are nothing to worry about, according to Chief Engineer David Tabak.
Changes in taste and odor were first noticed last weekend at the plant. Tabak said that algae are the first culprit looked to, especially with the erratic weather.
In testing, no algae were found in the raw water samples Monday, but the treatment plant still increased the amount of carbon being used to treat the water. Within the next two days, samples of ceratium and dinobryon, two types of algae, were found in samples taken upstream. Recent storms and rain pushed the algae downstream to the plant's intakes.
Tabak assured customers that the water was being treated, including the application of copper sulfate, which helps to control algae levels in water.
"We're on top of the situation," said Tabak, who added that crews will be working this weekend to control algae levels, which can be affected by rain.
Some residents concerned
Several local residents who were contacted had not noticed a change in taste or odor, but The Vindicator received e-mail and phone calls from residents concerned about the water.
Lingyan Yang of Kirk Road in Austintown called Friday to express her concerns over the odor of the water. "My husband and I have smelled a rotten fish smell since Wednesday afternoon," she said, adding that it came after the rain and storms. Since then, she has bought spring water and a faucet filter.
Yang said her neighbors told her that this problem has happened before. "We worry about the quality of the water," she said.
Tabak said that a similar situation took place a couple of years ago, also around this time of the year, but that is lasted only a few days.
Customers should be assured that the water is perfectly safe and is not a health risk, he said. He noted that when water is as taste- and odor-free as the water from MVSD, a little bit of a change is noticeable.
The MVSD gets its water from Meander Reservoir and sells water to Youngstown, Niles and McDonald, which then sell it to consumers.