Altus AFB, City of Altus assert local water has always been safe

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The quality of local drinking water is a hot topic both on base and in the local community.

An algae bloom occurred earlier this summer at Tom Steed Lake causing the drinking water to have an unpleasant taste, odor, and color, which led to questions about the safety of the water.

"Many people in the Altus area experienced drinking water that was not aesthetically pleasing due to odor, taste, and discoloration," said Chuck Butchee, 97th Civil Engineer Squadron Asset Management flight chief. "As unpleasing as the water was, it was continually tested to ensure that it met all health and safety standards."

The lake is still experiencing regular algae blooms, and they have been prevalent during the past few years.

"It seems like we're having more episodes of it in the past few years," said Gene Lester, City of Altus Water Treatment Plant supervisor. "A lot of it is because of the conditions of the lake. This is not just a local problem. There are a lot of lakes in Oklahoma experiencing more algae blooms and that is due to more and more nutrients getting into the lakes than ever before. Plus, our lake levels are awfully low, which makes a big difference."

Butchee stressed that the local water was never deemed unsafe.

"The drinking water supplied by the City of Altus to area residents was continually tested and verified to be safe," Butchee said. "All health and safety standards were maintained and at no time was the water deemed unsafe for consumption."

The taste, odor, and color of the drinking water resulted from a multitude of issues that all occurred simultaneously.

"First, the odor and taste of the water were created by the algae bloom," Butchee said. "This algae bloom occurred due to perfect water temperatures combined with lake water that was not infused by any fresh water due to limited rainfall and runoff of surface water into the lake. The algae bloom problem was then further enhanced by high wind and wave action of the lake waters causing the algae to be broken up and held in suspension in the water."

In addition, sediment in the lake was stirred up and suspended into the water, which caused manganese - a naturally occurring element found in the soil that is transported into the lake from storm runoff - to become suspended in the water and transported to the City of Altus water treatment system, Butchee said. Normal manganese levels are managed at the treatment system facility through filters and water clarifiers.

"The City of Altus also experienced a break in the water-main at the treatment facility, which took half of the conventional treatment system offline," said Butchee. "With the algae bloom and the raised manganese levels, the clarifier filter media became saturated with manganese, allowing a breakthrough of higher than normal manganese levels. This amplified the odor problems and created the discoloration of the water."

As soon as the discolored water became an issue, the City of Altus implemented additional sampling and treatment of the incoming water to further reduce manganese levels in the water.

"Sampling protocols were stringently followed to ensure that health and safety standards were being continually met," Butchee said.

Due to consumer concerns, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality performed an on-site inspection of the City of Altus water treatment operations. The ODEQ inspected the plant, and reviewed the treatment processes and the water quality sampling procedures.

"Their inspection confirmed that the treatment and sampling procedures were adequate in accordance with all health and safety standards," Butchee said.

The ODEQ also sampled the water and analyzed the sample in a laboratory.

"The results of this sampling also confirmed that the water met all health and safety standards," said Butchee.

The 97th Medical Group bioenvironmental flight also conducted testing of the base drinking water and found it to be in accordance with all health and safety standards, Butchee said.

If customers are not satisfied with the taste and smell of the water, there are additional filtration systems they can use.

"Some people use the point-of-use devices you put on the end of your faucet that have carbon filters in them," Lester said. "They say they work pretty well. Right now I think everything as far as taste and odor has everyone satisfied."