Taste and odor have been a recurring problem for many water utilities. This paper established an optimized strategy to cope with 2‐methylisoborneol (2‐MIB) by combining the determination of the control goal according to native population sensitivity and the prediction of the optimum powdered activated carbon (PAC) dose using the homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM). The results showed that the population in Beijing was very sensitive to 2‐MIB. Based on flavor profile analysis result conducted by a local panel, the odor threshold concentration (OTC) for Beijing population was determined to be 7.1 ng/L. This value was further certified by the significant odor complaint evaluation using a logit model and set as the control goal for the water treatment plant. According to the OTC level, a 2‐MIB removal prediction curve was then constructed for estimating the optimum PAC dose based on the HSDM. This study can provide a practical technical solution for the control of seasonable odor problems in waterworks.