Mayor's corner: Climate change and drinking water, how we're spending income taxes

Once again, the City of Bloomington Utilities is getting complaints from water customers about the smell and taste of water supplied to their homes. While it is perfectly safe to drink, the water is aesthetically unpleasant for many people. With climate change likely to increase the incidence and duration of this kind of seasonal problem, what steps is the city taking in the short and long term to ensure a water supply people trust?

We have recently been hearing from some residents that they find the smell and/or taste of tap water unpleasant. Bloomington draws its drinking water from Lake Monroe, filtering and cleaning it at the Monroe Water Treatment Plant where it undergoes several stages of disinfection before being distributed to residents.

Lake Monroe, the primary water source for the City of Bloomington, is a reservoir constructed in the early 1960s by damming Salt Creek, south of Bloomington. The lake was created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is still owned by them while the Indiana Department of Natural Resources manages it.

In 2021, water samples confirmed that naturally occurring organic chemicals from algal blooms caused taste and odor complaints during a late summer drought. The taste and odor are not health concerns, but aesthetic issues not uncommon for communities using lakes as their water sources. Algae grows in lakes, and the changing climate that brings more high heat days and less regular rain can create better conditions for algal growth.

In the past, the City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) often received taste and odor complaints throughout much of the summer and fall, so in 2017, CBU added Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) to the drinking water and had four years with zero taste and odor complaints. PAC is commonly used in the United States in water treatment plants to control taste and odor, settling and filtering out along with all the other solids in the lake water.

The PAC absorbs taste- and odor-causing substances produced by algae. At times, however, problems can persist even after treatment, and this is the second year in a row that we have noticed a late summer taste and odor in the water. As of now, the seasonal taste-and-odor issue has mostly passed and resident complaints have significantly declined, but CBU will be meeting with contractors and partners at Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to research additional options for algae control in the lake near the intake.

I encourage residents interested in learning more about the source of our drinking water to visit the Friends of Lake Monroe site at friendsoflakemonroe.org. They collaborate with CBU and offer Drinking Water Treatment Plant Tours and other programs that let residents become more acquainted with this vital resource.

The city administration recently wrapped up its budget presentations to the city council, after passage of an increase in the local option income tax paid by residents of Monroe County. How can residents examine the proposed allocations, specifically the increase in LIT, to compare them with the city's stated spending priorities used to justify the increase?

I am committed to transparency and to that end, strive to make the entire budget process highly accessible to Bloomington residents. The 2023 budget is particularly transformative for Bloomington, not only continuing to rebuild post-pandemic, but really ushering in a new era for our City. The ED-LIT increase and the overall 2023 budget bring vision and innovation to Bloomington.

For a little background, in May, following extensive public input, all nine members of the Bloomington Common Council voted to add 0.69% to the Monroe County Local Income Tax (LIT) rate — increasing it from 1.345% to 2.035% with a new Economic Development Local Income Tax (ED-LIT). For context, this means Monroe County residents now pay an income tax rate right in the middle of the seven contiguous counties, with three county rates higher and three lower.

During consideration of the proposed tax, the city administration worked with the Council and the public to outline very specific uses of the estimated $14.5 million of new annual revenue. The plan addressed four major areas: public safety; essential city services; climate change preparedness and mitigation including major public transit enhancements; and equity and quality of life for all. The outline was widely discussed and shared and more information can be found at https://bton.in/Qxhro.

All of these planned investments are included directly in the 2023 proposed budget before the City Council. The specific uses of the new ED-LIT funding will be reflected in a formal plan required by state law every two years, but planned in our city every year.

Each year, we gather City department budget requests to prepare the City's annual budget. Expenditure and revenue estimates are compiled and, with input from the Common Council, my office outlines spending priorities and presents the overall budget. Individual departmental budgets are presented to the Common Council in mid to late August (this year, Aug. 29-Sept. 1, accessible in real time to residents by Zoom and Community Access Television Services (CATS)).

Residents interested in the budget are encouraged to visit bloomington.in.gov/city/budget, where you can access the full 2023 Proposed Budget, City Council budget questions and answers, and links to slides and videos of budget presentations. Finally, the 2023 Budget Video Series links on the page are specific to the Local Income Tax impact on public safety, quality of life, essential services, and sustainability/climate. All these varied tools allow residents to review and react to the spending priorities and proposed allocations.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington mayor answers questions about drinking water, budget