Cañon City says water "safe to drink" after taste-and-odor complaints; operators increase disinfectant and tank cycling

Cañon City water officials told the council Aug. 3 they are responding to a wave of taste-and-odor complaints that began July 30 but that current tests show water quality within regulatory standards.

Water operations manager Travis Payne described how crews increased chlorine dioxide (a pre-oxidant used in disinfection), cycled storage tanks to introduce fresh water into the distribution system and performed spot hydrant flushing in affected neighborhoods. "The water is safe to drink. It is ... meet the water quality standards," Payne said. He reported that plant turbidity leaving the plant measured about 1.03 NTU and that the state has been notified and had "no concerns about our water quality as it is attributed to health or anything like that." Payne told the council the likely cause was plant matter or algae and that reduced flushing during drought (kept tanks fuller to conserve supply) could have compounded the taste and odor issue.

Payne said staff will pursue practical sampling and will confer with Greeley water managers, who have faced similar problems, to adopt a rapid sampling plan rather than rely on costly mass-spectrometry tests (Payne said such instruments can run about "$20,000 a pop"). He gave residents a reporting contact: waterquality@canyoncity.gov and a response phone number (719) 269-9019 for dispatching crews to flush dead ends. Payne also updated the council on drought status and project-water accounting, saying project water storage is being managed to extend supplies. Council members thanked staff for fast response and asked for follow-up cost and sampling options.