• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.598-602
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• 2008

The Daecheong Reservoir is the largest multi-purpose reservoir in the Keum River basin. This water supply is subject to some of the most serious taste and odor (T&O) problems in the region. The intensity of T&O events increased due to eutrophication during the 1990s. In this study, the temporal occurrence of T&O in raw water from the main Daecheong Reservoir and its regulating reservoir was compared using both an instrumental method (CLSA+GC/MS) and threshold odor number (TON) test from April to December 2006. In addition, biofilms on the submerged macrophytes and rocks were analyzed for two typical T&O causing compounds, Geosmin and 2-MIB. The maximum concentration of Geosmin in the main reservoir was almost two times higher than that in the regulating reservoir. Interestingly, 2-MIB was only detected in water samples from the main reservoir. In the case of T&O causing compounds present in the biofilm on the submerged macrophytes and rocks, the regulating reservoir had lower concentrations compared to those of the main reservoir. It was found that both Geosmin and 2-MIB were detected from the biofilms much earlier than from the water samples. This result suggests that the occurrence of T&O compounds in the biofilms could be used as an early warning indicator of an imminent T&O outbreak in the water body.