Town of Johnstown Addressing Water Taste and Odor Issues with Installation of New Systems

The Town of Johnstown has heard resident concerns regarding water taste and odor issues and has prioritized addressing these concerns by installing three new systems to help mitigate taste and odor issues. These systems will be online by the end of June.

Johnstown, CO - June 14, 2021 - One thing that everyone can agree with is that Town of Johnstown residents deserve better water service and better service is just around the corner. By the end of June, the Town of Johnstown will have installed three new systems to improve the quality of the water: a new Granular Activated Carbon feeder system, a Powdered Activated Carbon filtration system, and an ultrasonic buoy. 

The Granular Activated Carbon system (GAC) is installed at the water treatment plant and is specific to organic contaminant removal and taste and odor control. The Powdered Activated Carbon filter (PAC) is installed at Lone Tree and will work to initially filter out organic components in the water (a contributor to taste and odor issues).  The final, and most local, system that residents will be able to notice once installed in the Johnstown reservoir is the ultrasonic buoy, which prevents the growth of algae in the surface reservoir and mitigates the impact of the algae on the water’s taste and odor. 

The Town made the first move towards providing better water service at the beginning of this year with new water and sewer rates and fee schedule. Having the money in the Water & Sewer Fund to maintain, operate, and make necessary updates to Town’s water and sewer infrastructure is pivotal to providing good service. The Town took extra care to establish rates that were both as low as possible and sustainable for maintenance and operation of the infrastructure that supports current residents. Johnstown’s water and sewer fees remain competitive with surrounding municipalities. 

Over the past 7 months, the Town of Johnstown has worked quickly to assess water taste and odor issues and order systems to provide relief to these issues, however, the Town is not stopping here. The GAC, PAC and buoy systems are just one step towards completely addressing water taste and odor issues and delivering the service that Johnstown deserves.

Find pictures and more information about the GAC, PAC, and buoy systems, other Public Works water and sewer projects at johnstown.colorado.gov/pwprojects and below. Click here to view the 2021 fee schedule.