Algae Bloom Alters Water’s Taste, Smell

A large algae bloom in Castaic Lake brought on by warm temperatures is causing an unpleasant but harmless taste and odor in state water, water officials said Friday.

Metropolitan Water District spokesman Bob Gomperz said 450,000 customers of Calleguas Municipal Water District, which distributes state water from Metropolitan to all of eastern Ventura County, as well as Oxnard and Camarillo, may notice the bad taste in their tap water in coming weeks.

“It’s not a health hazard,” Gomperz said. “It’s just a nuisance. There is no visual change in the water, but people with sensitive nostrils may notice a musty taste and smell.”

Gomperz said the best way to combat the bad taste, which is caused by the algae geosmin, is to fill a pitcher with tap water and leave it in the refrigerator. “Cooling water helps eliminate the smell and taste for some reason,” Gomperz said.

He said Metropolitan was trying to blend the Castaic water with supplies from the Colorado River to combat the problem.

He said the lake was too large to make treating it with chemicals feasible.

The filtration process the state water normally goes through cannot eliminate the algae, he said.

The bloom could last as long as several weeks, and is likely to return late in the summer if the hot weather continues, he said. “It could get worse,” Gomperz said. “But frankly, a lot of our customers are used to this. I’ve been with this agency 10 years and this seems to happen every year.”