The town of Bethlehem reports getting calls from residents about a “musty smell” to their tap water.

In response, the town put out a notice, saying the water is safe to drink and explaining the reason for the odor.

“This fall’s unusual warmth and long drought have created ideal growing conditions for algae in our New Salem Reservoir,” the notice said.

The Vly Creek Reservoir is in the center of New Scotland and serves some New Scotland residents as well as Bethlehem residents.

“Algae love the warmer water temperatures, and the significant drop in flow into and out of the 1.25 billion-gallon reservoir has limited normal mixing,” the notice says. “While our water treatment plant is effectively removing all of the algae from the water it sends into town, a faint mustiness persists.”

Laboratory testing has shown the algae in the reservoir is not toxic, the town says, and the water is safe to drink, meeting all state and federal water safety standards.

The town is adjusting its treatment process to stem the odor and is again treating the reservoir for algae because temperatures this fall remain so high.

“We are undertaking a major flushing program to pull fresher smelling water into our 220-miles of water mains as quickly as possible,” the notice says.

For the long term, the town anticipates climate change will mean longer droughts and higher temperatures and so is “exploring new technologies that we can introduce to our New Salem Water Treatment Plant to continue ensuring our water is safe to drink and to also filter out potential odor issues.”