AWWA taste and odor survey

Abstract

A 1989 survey provides insights on how utilities perceive taste and odor problems in their water supplies, what treatment processes they use, and which processes they rated effective. A taste and odor questionnaire was sent to 826 water utilities. A total of 377 usable responses were received from across the United States and Alberta, Canada. Sixteen percent of the utilities considered their taste and odor problems to be serious, and 43 percent had experienced a taste and odor event lasting longer than one week. The major odor problems reported by the utilities were characterized as chlorine, earthy, fishy, and medicinal; major taste problems were reported as sour, metallic, and chlorine. There were differences between the taste and odor problems encountered by utilities treating groundwater and those treating surface water. Most utilities attributed taste and odor problems to the distribution system. In addition, groundwater plants identified the disinfectant used and mineral residuals as other sources of taste and odor problems. Surface water systems blamed plankton and decaying vegetation in the influent water, the disinfectant used, and conditions at reservoirs.

Occurrence of odor problems in drinking water of major cities across China

“…Groundwater samples had a lower occurrence rate (33%) and average intensity (2.7), with the earthy/ musty odor being dominant. These results are similar to groundwater from the USA, where fewer odor problems have been reported [2].…”

“…According to an investigation in the USA, 16 percent of a total of 377 utilities reported serious T/O problems, and 43 utilities had experienced a T/O event lasting for longer than one week [2]. At the same time, only sporadic reports of T/O events in drinking water have been reported in China, particularly during the last ten years [3][4][5].…”

A systematic study on spatial and seasonal patterns of eight taste and odor compounds with relation to various biotic and abiotic parameters in Gonghu Bay of Lake Taihu, China

“…MIB and GEO are secondary metabolites produced by cyanobacteria, actinomycetes, fungi and myxobacteria, and responsible for most reports of source water odors (Dzialowski et al, 2009;Smith et al, 2008;Suffet et al, 1996;Watson et al, 2000;Westerhoff et al, 2005). In the present study, total concentrations of GEO in the water ranged from 0 to 11.29 ng/L, and the annual mean concentrations in dissolved and particulate fractions were 1.96 and 1.37 ng/L, respectively.…”

“…Among the eight odor groups described in the water flavor wheel, the earthy-musty odors are of particular interest because they are unpalatable and often encountered in water (Suffet et al, 1996). Over the past years, many studies have focused on the well-known earthymusty algal metabolites trans-1,10-dimethyl-trans-9-decalol (geosmin, GEO) and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) (Durrerl et al, 1999;Dzialowski et al, 2009;Huang et al, 2007;Lin et al, 2002;Suffet et al, 1996;Sugiura et al, 1998;Watson et al, 2000;Westerhoff et al, 2005), whereas there are only a few studies on other cyanobacterial metabolites such as β-cyclocitral, β-ionone, 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (IPMP) and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (IBMP) (Li et al, 2007;Peter et al, 2009;Xu et al, 1999). Previous studies have mainly focused on the production of T&O compounds by isolated phytoplankton species or on the natural occurrence of selected T&O compounds, while the triggers, mode and dynamics of these cyanobacterial metabolites are still unclear (Peter et al, 2009;Watson, 2003).…”

Quantitative method to determine the regional drinking water odorant regulation goals based on odor sensitivity distribution: Illustrated using 2-MIB

“…Odor in drinking water has long been a major cause of consumer complaints worldwide and is thus regulated in many countries (Yagi, 1988;Suffet et al, 1996;Bruchet, 1999;Yang et al, 2008;Yu et al, 2009;Proulx et al, 2012). In the USA, it is required that the threshold odor number be below 3 (US EPA, 2012; Wakayama, 2006), while in China, it is required that drinking water should be free from abnormal taste and odor (GB5749-2006).…”