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Water taste is result of 'turn over' in Vallecito, Bayfield reservoirs

Taste should be back to normal in a few weeks, town manager says
One look at a glass of town water says it all for Kellie Lillyquist, who owns the Tuning Fork Cafe in downtown Bayfield with her husband, Tim. The restaurant filters its water for coffee and tea.

Yuck.

That's been a frequent verdict on the taste of Bayfield's water for the past couple of weeks.

It's had an off taste, verging on metallic. Some people have switched for now to bottled or filtered water.

Tim and Kellie Lillyquist of the Tuning Fork Cafe in downtown Bayfield said fortunately, they have water filters for their machines that brew coffee, tea and espresso, and they've been selling lots of bottled water to their water drinkers who normally fill cups out of a large water cooler that they fill with town water.

"It's yucky," Kellie said of unfiltered water.

The off taste isn't dangerous and meets all Colorado drinking water standards, according to Chris La May, Bayfield's town manager.

"Turn over from temperature stratifications in both Vallecito and the town reservoir causes taste and odor issues with the water," La May said. There also is algae growth throughout the raw water system. "This occurs every year, but due to the unusual weather conditions and elevated water temperatures, is more prominent and prolonged this summer." Conditions should change in a few weeks and the taste should be back to normal, he added.

A turnover is when the water basically flips in a body of water. A turnover can be caused by high temperatures during the day and low temps at night - exactly what we've had this August.

They also can take place later in the fall or early in the spring when air temperatures match the water temperature. When the surface temperature of the water cools down below 50 degrees, the water on the top grows heavier, so it goes down to the bottom of the reservoir, and the water on the bottom rises to the top.

Bayfield's water system utilizes layers of media for multimedia filtration.

"Two of our filters use anthracite, filter sand and coarser sand," La May said. "One filter uses anthracite, filter sand, coarser sand, garnet, and a special gravel."

Ignacio's water smelled for a little while in August, but hasn't tasted any different than usual, said a few town residents. Ignacio's drinking water and sewage treatment are handled by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

Bottle water sales at the Grocery Store in Bayfield haven't increased much in the past few weeks, said owner Paul Peeples. Interestingly, the store did sell a lot of bottled water shortly after the Aug. 5 toxic mine spill into the Animas River, he said, when Durango stores were running low on water.