To improve water taste, the City is partnering with the engineering firm HDR to perform an eight-month pilot-scale study to identify cost-effective treatment options to improve water quality for our residents and business community.
“The Broken Arrow Municipal Authority has a strong commitment to providing both safe and aesthetically-pleasing water for everyone,” Utilities Director Chuck Vokes said.
The Verdigris River Water Treatment Plant has been in operation and reliably treating Broken Arrow’s water since April 2014.
“Our water meets all State and Federal Drinking water standards.” Vokes said. “However, during the summer of 2018, algal blooms in our raw water source caused the levels of naturally occurring taste and odor compounds to reach levels that led to some customer complaints.”
While these compounds have no known health issues, they can make the water taste and smell earthy or musty.
To address this issue, HDR is using a process similar to the Granular Activated Carbon that is found in filters used on faucets and refrigerators in most homes. The benefit of this process is that it removes unpleasant taste and odors along with other organic and inorganic contaminants more effectively than our conventional treatment processes.
Once completed this summer, HDR will make recommendations as to which are the best processes that we should use to treat our Water Treatment Plant. Based on their recommendations, we will select the best plan of action for us and begin planning to determine when we can implement these improvements.
We will keep our residents and businesses informed on our progress as more information becomes available throughout the process. For questions or concerns regarding water quality, call Director of Utilities Chuck Vokes at 918-259-7000.
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