Local algae bloom causes water odor, unpleasant taste Published May 24, 2012 By Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- An algae bloom at Tom Steed reservoir has caused the local drinking water to have an unpleasant odor and taste. This has raised some concerns in the base community about the safety of the water. "The water is safe to drink, it is meeting the Environmental Protection Agency requirements for safety," said Gene Lester City of Altus Water Treatment Plant supervisor. "The taste and odor is caused by naturally occurring lake turn-over and algae blooms. As soon as we detected it, we began a treatment regimen of Powdered Activated Carbon Treatment, which is a recognized chemical to help reduce the odor." Algae blooms are a normal occurrence during this time of year. According to Natural Environmental Systems website, "Algae growth can upset the normal balance of a body of water. Normally a small amount of algae is ok because pond plants like algae do release oxygen back into the water. It is when algae outbreaks get severe, that they too affect the pond's oxygen level. During daylight hours, algae consume carbon dioxide from the water and release oxygen, but when night falls, this process is reversed and the algae begin utilizing the ponds oxygen to survive. So when there is a large algae population, oxygen levels can be significantly reduced in the overnight hours leading to increased algae growth during the day. Another byproduct of the cycle of poor organic material breakdown is the increased presence of odors. Material that is slow to breakdown can become anaerobic and emit pungent and noxious gases like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. Again, under normal conditions where a pond has a healthy oxygen level, the matter is digested aerobically and no odor is produced, but when there is not enough oxygen to do the job, anaerobic microbes begin digesting the waste, creating the odors." Altus AFB receives its water from the City of Altus's water treatment plant, which is currently working to fix the problem. "The water is safe, and my staff is working diligently to get [the odor and taste] under control, because my people have to drink this water too, so it affects us the same way," Lester said.