Geosmin and MIB in drinking water are primarily controlled by which methods?

• A. Geosmin and MIB are taste and odor compounds; controlled by activated carbon filtration and source water management.
• B. They are beneficial minerals controlled by adding minerals.
• C. They are disinfectants controlled by increasing chlorine dose.
• D. They are metals controlled by precipitation.

Answer: (A)

Geosmin and MIB are taste and odor compounds that affect how drinking water tastes and smells. The most effective ways to control them are activated carbon filtration and managing the source water to reduce or prevent their formation. Activated carbon works by adsorption, where the carbon’s large surface area captures these organic molecules as water passes through, removing the odor and earthy tastes from the final product. Controlling the source water—through practices like protecting watersheds, reducing nutrient loads, and limiting algal blooms in reservoirs—helps minimize how much of these compounds enter the treatment system in the first place.

Other approaches don’t address the problem as directly. Adding minerals doesn’t remove geosmin or MIB. Increasing chlorine dose changes disinfection and can affect taste in different ways but doesn’t eliminate these odor-causing compounds, and it can create other byproducts. Precipitation targets metals, not organic taste-and-odor compounds.