The BGMU Water Treatment Plant along the Barren River is shown on Oct. 25, 2023. (Grace Ramey/grace.ramey@bgdailynews.com)

Bowling Green Municipal Utilities is advising customers that foul or metallic-tasting water reported in the area does not pose any danger.

BGMU in a release Monday stated that water issues were discovered Thursday after customers reported “both a metallic taste and an organic or musty taste” in their drinking water, a result of unusually warm weather and low water levels at Barren River.

Joe Pavoni, BGMU water systems manager, said the utility made modifications to its system the same day the issue was discovered but off-tasting water could persist for around a week as water moves through the system.

“We had crews go out and flush the system in that area — open hydrants and let them run to move the water,” Pavoni said.

In addition to flushing hydrants, BGMU stated is has made changes to the treatment methodology and increased the number of samples taken to better address the issue.

Pavoni said the change in taste is “pretty common” among water treatment systems during the fall.

He said low water levels and changing weather make it harder for a river to “flush itself out,” leading to algal blooms, especially when combined with warmer-than-average weather.

He added that BGMU conducts over 1.3 million tests annually to determine water safety and that “all of the tests are coming back fine.”

“It’s really just an aesthetic issue, but we’re working on it and hope to have it resolved soon if it isn’t already,” Pavoni said.

Pavoni said they received a “relatively small amount” of customer reports but crews “moved on it immediately” to determine the cause.

“The most important thing to us is that we’re putting out a product that’s safe for people,” Pavoni said. “The product is certainly safe and all of the tests, again, have come back perfectly (safe).”