Lack of rain hurts water quality in Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON ( 25News Now ) - Residents may have noticed a strange taste or odor to their water in Bloomington, but it won’t last for long.

The City of Bloomington’s Water Department added powdered activated carbon to one of the lakes it draws its water from to improve taste and overall quality.

The city said recent water quality tests revealed “a notable increase in taste and odor compounds.” The written release did not indicate exactly which compounds are increasing, but it did say the amount of nanograms per liter of water had practically doubled.

The water department attributes the rise to ongoing dry weather, saying Lake Bloomington’s water level has decreased by more than a foot.

Adding in the powdered activated carbon is thought to reduce the amount of taste and odor compou