Lake Lanier water customers don’t have to grab for bottled water as a substitute for what’s pulled from the lake and sent through pipes to our homes.

Water officials and environmentalists alike say the water is fine, for the most part, even though there are concerns about algae levels in the lake.

If those levels “continue to rise, issues can arise with treatment, including foul odor and taste, even after treatment (by government plants),” said Jason Ulseth, who leads Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

In any case, Ulseth recommends against drinking directly from the lake or any body of water that’s also used for recreational purposes — such as Lanier.

Some studies say that water containing 10 milligrams per liter of chlorophyll-a or higher may have taste and odor issues.

“You get to 11.0 and you’re going to taste foul water,” Ulseth said.

Chlorophyll-a indicates the level of potentially harmful algae growth in the water. Algae growth can be traced to too many nutrients, as coming from farms, septic tanks, lawn fertilizers and wastewater treatment plants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says algae blooms “can produce toxins that are harmful to the health of the environment, plants, animals and people.”

Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the state Environmental Protection Division closely monitor Lanier’s chlorophyll-a levels, with data collected by both groups averaged to produce final numbers.

Riverkeeper didn’t record a violation in 2014. EPD didn’t either and its numbers were even lower.

And Riverkeeper’s numbers showed that the only testing station that failed water quality standards in 2013 was an area off the Ga. 53/Dawsonville Highway bridge in Gainesville over the Chattahoochee River, where the chlorophyll-a content was 10.6 milligrams per liter.

Ulseth noted that drinking water is not pulled from the Ga. 53 bridge.

Water systems relying on Lanier as a source of drinking water are run by Buford, Cumming, Forsyth County, Gainesville and Gwinnett County. All totaled, they serve about 1.2 million people.

“The public water systems that use Lake Lanier are required to routinely sample finished water and verify compliance for 60 different contaminants to ensure that the drinking water is safe for human consumption,” according to the EPD, which reviews the sampling results.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, public water systems must meet National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, which limit the levels of contaminants in drinking water.

That includes no microorganisms that might cause gastrointestinal illnesses; no coliforms, including fecal and E. coli; no bromate, a disinfection byproduct that increases the risk of cancer; and no lead.

Gainesville’s Public Utilities Department says in its 2015 water quality report that it conducted over 2,600 laboratory tests in 2014 for more than 100 drinking water parameters and had no violations in standards for microbiological and other contaminants (such as lead, copper and disinfectants).

Also, officials tested for turbidity, a measure of the cloudiness of water, with higher levels often correlating to levels of disease-causing microorganisms.

Quality of the water coming into the plant, as well as quality “desired in the finished water” and other factors, may require governments to install other treatment processes, EPD officials said.

Gainesville’s water treatment plant off Riverside Drive is permitted by EPD for up to 25 million gallons per day in flows, and its plant off Jim Crow Road in South Hall is permitted for up to 10 million gallons.

The process is highly technical, but basically involves withdrawing water from the lake and treating it to drinking water standards.

“Facilities and the quality of the finished water must consistently and reliably meet the applicable state and federal drinking water standards,” states the EPD.

“No water is tested any more than this water here,” Riverside plant manager Bill Wilson said.“And occasionally, you’ll hear of a recall on bottled water.”

He added: “I’ve never regularly drank well water, but I would imagine minerals and things like that are more (of a factor) than what we have to deal with.”

In 2013, city employees took a 3,000-gallon tanker of treated water from the Riverside plant to a Blue Ridge bottling plant to produce bottled water. The bottles, still being handed out today, feature a blue label and the name “Gainesville H2O” on the label.

“We’ve got some of the best water in the state and certainly the best water in Hall County,” said Don Dye, assistant public utilities director, at the time.

The EPD says water quality has improved since 2006, when Lanier was added to the list of waters where water quality standards are not met because of chlorophyll-a violations at the Ga. 53 bridge, as well as Browns Bridge and in Flowery Branch.

“However, there have never been any reported algal blooms,” state officials said.

By the time the 2014 list of impaired waters was prepared, the only site that still showed impairment was Browns Bridge. Flowery Branch is meeting chlorophyll-a criteria.

At the Ga. 53 bridge, “conditions continue to improve and the site is classified as ‘assessment pending’ until data confirm that water quality standards have been met for five years in a row,” EPD officials said.