Cause of taste

Worldwide, a major issue for the drinking water industry is the esthetic quahty of water, in particular the taste and smell of the water at the consumer s tap. Apart from chlorine added to most water supplies to ensure microbiological safety, the most common cause of taste and odor problems are algal metabolites in the source water, and the two most common of these are MIB (MIB can also be produced by actinomycetes bacteria) and geosmin, an earthy odor compound. 

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