City of Odessa issues explainer on water treatment violation notice

The City of Odessa has released a statement after residents recently received a water treatment violation notice.

The following comes from the City of Odessa's Public Works Department:

"Please let residents know the water was never ‘unsafe’ or ‘hazardous’ to drink. This is ‘non-acute’ or not a health standard. It is a plant operations efficiency standard. The reason this notice is required to be reported is the plant did not perform to normal standards for ‘efficient’ removal of particles or sediment. These particles or sediment are generally very fine pieces of dirt or sand that are not even visible by the naked eye. The regulations require a certain level of achievement 95% of the time and during the month, the City plant achieved 93.5% of the time.

Reason:The City experienced an unexpected change in raw (supply) water quality over a few days last month. The water included a larger amount and varied type of sediment or silt / dirt. We use chemicals to ‘glue’ those fine particles together and settle them in large tanks. The change caused our chemical dosages to be insufficient to remove the particles as efficiently as normal. It took time to find the correct chemical dosage to get back into normal performance. We achieved standard levels by adjusting chemical dosage within a few days. Since that time, the raw water supply has returned to previous quality and we are back to normal procedures."