NEWS RELEASE

Thursday, March 29, 2007

On April 1st, OWASA will resume the use of “chloramines,” a compound of chlorine and ammonia, to disinfect public drinking water. Since 2002, OWASA has used chloramines in the 11 months of the year other than March to improve drinking water quality and to reduce the chlorine taste and odor in water.

During March, OWASA and several other local utilities temporarily used chlorine for water disinfection.  North Carolina standards require water systems that normally use chloramines to use chlorine for one month each year to help ensure a high level of disinfection in the community’s network of water mains.

Chlorine taste and smell are therefore more noticeable in OWASA drinking water in March than in other months of the year. With the return to chloramine disinfection, chlorine taste and smell should be less noticeable in our water by mid-April. Because of the time that OWASA water is stored in tanks and travels through the water system to customers, some water disinfected with chlorine may remain in parts of our water system for about two weeks after chloramine disinfection resumes.

Customers are invited to contact OWASA with any questions or comments about the use of chlorine in March and about the characteristics of OWASA drinking water.

For more information:

Rachel Monschein, Water Treatment Plant Laboratory Supervisor, 537-4227; rmonschein@owasa.org

Ken Loflin, Water Supply and Treatment Manager, 537-4232; kloflin@owasa.org