McComb Drinking Water Odor, The Water is Safe to Drink

Bowling Green, Ohio

The Northwestern Water and Sewer District (The District) is reassuring residents of McComb that the water is safe to drink.  Recently, The District was made aware of smell and taste issues reported by some residents.

Cause:  The odor is caused by excessive growth of non-toxic algae in McComb’ s reservoirs.  These non-toxic algae release a natural substance that causes the water to taste or smell different from normal.  This issue is common in the late summer months and occurs in similar-sized reservoirs and water treatment plants.

What is The District Doing:
Short-term: The District is treating the algae in the reservoir and will continue to test the water per EPA standards.  The District has adjusted its treatment processes and tries to reduce tastes and odors as much as possible.  Unfortunately, most of these natural substances are difficult to remove using current treatment methods.  Taste should improve once temperatures cool.

Free WaterShed Water: The District is offering residents of McComb free WaterShed water at the McComb location on South Park Drive.

Long-term:  The District in the design phase of building a waterline to that will provide the Village of McComb with water from the Village of North Baltimore.

The McComb Water Treatment plant is a Class III water treatment plant in the Village of McComb. The Village of McComb receives its drinking water from Rader Creek; this is a surface water source. Water is pumped from the creek into two reservoirs adjacent to the water treatment plant for storage prior to treatment. Water treatment consists of coagulation, filtration, fluoridation, and disinfection. The McComb public water system serves a population of approximately 1,700 people. The system’s treatment capacity is approximately 940,000 gallons per day, but the current average production is about 215,000 gallons per day.

If you need additional information on McComb’s drinking water, contact our operations department at 419-354-9090 Extension 170, between the hours of 7:30 am and 4 pm.