From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 14, 1989:

Lawrence’s director of utilities said today a two-week-old problem with distasteful drinking water was on its way to being solved. “Water out of Clinton is heavy with algae and other organisms; it’s pretty bad at this time of year,” said Roger Coffey, director of utilities. “And initially we had some machine malfunctions that didn’t give us the right chemical mix to take care of the problem. Consequently, we’ve had some water that left the plant that wasn’t very good smelling or tasting.” The machinery problems had been corrected, but the algae problem at the lake still remained, Coffey said. The city water department had received many complaints about the earthy, musty taste and odor of the water, but Coffey explained that at no time had the water posed a health hazard. “Everything that’s gone out of the plant meets all of the drinking water standards,” he said. “There’s no reason to believe there’s any adverse health effects from this. It just smells and tastes different.”