Water Treatment
Scientific research is revealing new information about drinking water and public health, and as a result the City of New Port Richey is changing its water treatment processes to ensure that the water we are drinking is of the highest quality.
In January 2004, the City of New Port Richey began using chloramines as a final step in its water disinfection process. Currently 20-25% of the local governments in the United States use chloramines. That number is expected to grow due to the new federal regulations.
Chloramine Benefits
The decision to begin using chloramines instead of chlorine was based on a number of important factors:
- Cost effectiveness – While other options are available that would ensure meeting future water regulations, chloramines is the most cost effective. Other options would cost almost 40 cents per thousand gallons of water. The use of chloramines will only cost 2-3 cents per thousand gallons. For the average homeowner, that means chloramines will cost about $2 a year, while other options would cost about $30 per year.
- Improved water taste and smell – With the use of chloramines, the taste and smell associated with chlorine will be diminished.
- Reduced by-products – The change to chloramines reduces the level of regulated by-products formed when chlorine mixes with naturally occurring organic substances found in water. The formation of two compounds suspected of causing cancer, trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, will be significantly reduced by using chloramines.
- Stability of disinfectant – Chloramines are more stable than chlorine and continue to disinfect for a longer period of time in the distribution pipelines.
- Water quality standards – While the city already complies with all current water quality regulations, this change enables us to comply with new, more stringent standards being phased in by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Water containing chloramines meets stricter health standards and can be utilized for all typical consumer uses. For more detailed information about chloramines, please visit the Tampa Bay Partnership.opens in a new window