Golden Road Water Treatment Plant Remains Offline

TYLER — The Golden Road Water Treatment Plant remains offline as the city of Tyler works to finish construction. According to a news release, officials are currently estimating four weeks before the plant can be brought back online, provided all work proceeds without complication. To further minimize the impact of the geosmin compound on water taste and odor during this time, the news release says staff continues to feed the maximum amount of ozone and powdered activated carbon at the Lake Palestine Water Treatment facility. Officials add that crews are flushing hydrants across the city to move the treated water through the system quickly.

If you are experiencing strong “earthy” taste and odor in your area, you’re asked to contact Tyler’s Water Service Center at (903) 531-1285 to report your location. City officials say they will provide regular updates each Friday until the Golden Road plant is back online and report new information or milestones as they occur.

On Feb. 4, the Golden Road plant was taken offline as part of ongoing construction to the plant, leaving the Lake Palestine plant the sole provider of treated water to the city water system. During that time, the city experienced a spike in geosmin, a taste and odor compound, coming from Lake Palestine to the Lake Palestine plant. Officials say geosmin is non-toxic and safe to consume but typically produces an earthy odor. Typically, both water treatment plants operating at the same time automatically minimizes the amount of detectable geosmin, according to the city. Officials say the blending of the water will aid in eliminating the taste and odor issues and improvement should be noticed within 72 hours of the plant coming back online.