{"id":679445,"date":"2026-06-02T08:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T08:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/679445\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T08:06:15","slug":"what-causes-the-musty-smell-in-manatee-county-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/679445\/","title":{"rendered":"What causes the musty smell in Manatee County water"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Manatee County residents may notice an odd smell to their water, but county staff say it\u2019s a normal, seasonal occurrence.<\/p>\n<p>Natural odors happen every year, but some years \u2014 like this one \u2014 can be more intense than others, according to a video shared by Manatee County Government. However, the county assured residents the water remains safe to drink.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we move into spring, naturally occurring seasonal algal blooms may produce taste and odor compounds that can affect the taste and smell of your drinking water,\u201d James Javaruski, a laboratory analyst for the county, said in the video. \u201cAs temperatures rise, this happens every year, though some years it\u2019s more obvious than others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The algal blooms and bacteria appear naturally in lakes, including Lake Manatee, according to a fact sheet on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mymanatee.org\/connect\/news-and-information\/news-and-information\/article-detail\/utilities-water-division-blog\/2025\/01\/04\/water-odor-and-taste-fact-sheet\">county\u2019s website<\/a>. Lake Manatee accounts for about two-thirds of the county\u2019s drinking water.<\/p>\n<p>These blooms can produce an earthy or musty odor and taste in drinking water. The county\u2019s website states the episodes can happen two or three times per year, and last up to four weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Javaruski said the county\u2019s team can adjust the treatment process by adding <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/engineering\/powdered-activated-carbon\">powdered activated carbon<\/a>, a commonly-used method to remove earthy and musty smells in drinking water caused by algae and bacteria.<\/p>\n<p>If residents are still concerned about the smell and odor, the county recommends using pitcher filters with built-in carbon filters to reduce the taste, as well as a shower head with a carbon filter. Chilling the water before drinking can also help.<\/p>\n<p>Residents can also reach out to Manatee County\u2019s 3-1-1 hotline with additional questions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"summary gray\">This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 5:50 AM.<\/p>\n<p>        Related Stories from  Bradenton Herald<\/p>\n<p>                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/profile\/309208780\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/square carter 4.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" alt=\"Profile Image of Carter Weinhofer\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n                    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                <a class=\"author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bradenton.com\/profile\/309208780\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Carter Weinhofer<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    Bradenton Herald<\/p>\n<p>            Carter Weinhofer is the Bradenton Herald\u2019s Accountability Reporter. He covers politics, development and other local issues. Carter\u2019s work has received recognition from the Florida Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Florida Society of News Editors. He graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg.\n            <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manatee County residents may notice an odd smell to their water, but county staff say it\u2019s a normal,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-679445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}