If algae in the water source is clogging the filters of the water plant the most probable solution is to?

• A. Increase chlorine
• B. Add more filtration
• C. Control the nutrients
• D. Boil the water

Answer: (C)

Algal blooms are fueled by nutrients in the source water, especially phosphorus and nitrogen. When filters clog with algae, the most effective approach is to reduce the nutrient supply driving the growth. By controlling nutrients at the watershed or source-water level, you limit algae formation, making filtration more reliable and reducing ongoing fouling.

Increasing chlorine may kill some algae but doesn’t address the root cause and can lead to taste, odor, and by-product issues. Adding more filtration simply shifts the bottleneck to the same problem and isn’t a practical long-term solution. Boiling the water is a household treatment and doesn’t fix the source-water algal growth or remove the cause of filter fouling.