February 15, 2016
Annual winter water maintenance may affect taste
MURPHY (February 15, 2016) The City’s water supplier, the North Texas Municipal Water District, is conducting the chlorine maintenance on its water delivery system that occurs every winter, says Candy McQuiston, Customer Service Manager.
“Murphy’s supplier conducts this maintenance every year during the winter months,” she said. “Doing so allows it to forego the flushing that would otherwise be necessary to maintain water purity and cleanliness.”
The maintenance will begin on March 7 and conclude on April 4.
Chlorine maintenance during the winter is designed to avoid the water flushes that would be necessary during the summer to maintain water cleanliness. A system that has an imbalance of disinfectant in the water must flush its system to regain the appropriate balance,
according to rules from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
“Performing the chlorine maintenance now is essential to maintaining that balance later in the year,” said McQuiston.
The water supplier makes use of chloramines, a combination of chlorine and ammonia, to provide the disinfectant in their systems as required by the TCEQ. Chloramines provide a longer lasting residual disinfection in water pipelines and storage facilities. During the chlorine maintenance period, however, the disinfection consists of chlorine alone without the ammonia.
The annual maintenance does not have any effect on the quality of the water delivered. The water is safe for all uses. However, people who are sensitive to changes in odor or taste may detect a slightly stronger smell or taste of chlorine. The change in the smell and taste does not, in any way, alter the quality of the drinking water.
For additional information, consumers are invited to visit: https://www.ntmwd.com/downloads/chlorine_maint_qa.pdf https://ntmwd.com/water_quality.html
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