If your morning shower smells more like a dip in the pool than a spa retreat, you’re not imagining things. That chlorine smell isn’t accidental; it’s part of a routine disinfection process carried out by your local water treatment facility to keep your drinking water clean, safe, and free from harmful bacteria.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), disinfecting drinking water is essential for safeguarding consumers from disease-causing microorganisms, known as pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. Disinfectants are highly effective at eliminating or removing these pathogens and have greatly enhanced public health.
Water disinfection has historically been crucial in improving the quality of drinking water in the United States. The first use of chlorine for disinfecting community drinking water occurred in 1908 in New Jersey. As the rest of the country adopted this routine practice of disinfecting their water, it led to a significant decrease in diseases like cholera and typhoid fever.
Texas mandates that drinking water is disinfected before it enters the distribution system that delivers it to consumers through pipes. The treatment process requires a public water system to use either chlorine or chloramine in the distribution.
The regional surface water treatment plant in Williamson County, operated by the Brazos River Authority, uses chloramine to disinfect drinking water.
Chloramine is a disinfectant created by mixing chlorinated water with a small amount of ammonia. It is widely used for disinfection purposes in many public water systems across Texas and around the world.
According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), water disinfected with chloramine is safe for drinking, cooking, bathing, and daily activities.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have also concluded that chloramine is a safe disinfectant and that water treated with it, within regulatory standards, does not pose any known or expected health risks.
However, over time, this process causes buildup of chloramine in bacteria, which then requires a free chlorine conversion to eliminate. This common practice is used as preventive maintenance to kill bacteria that, although harmless when consumed by humans, can cause unwanted taste and odor.
Now that we possibly have unwanted bacteria in our pipes, which are a by-product of disinfecting the water to make it safe to drink, what do we do about it? This is where the chlorine smell comes into play.
A free chlorine conversion, also known as a “chlorine burn," is used to inactivate certain bacteria.
Bryan Bertelson, chief plant operator at East Williamson County Regional Raw Water System (EWCRWS), explains: “When excess ammonia builds up in a chloramine-treated distribution system, it provides a food source for specific types of bacteria that are harmless to people. These bacteria can make it difficult for public water systems to maintain a disinfectant residual, allowing harmful microorganisms to grow.”
Bertelson adds: “The chlorine burn lowers bacteria levels to help maintain an effective disinfectant residual throughout the distribution system,” Bertelson says. “We usually perform a burn every one to three years, when one of our customers makes the request.”
EWCRWS will perform a scheduled “chlorine burn” during December. ”But before that time, we notify our customers, and they then notify the water users through their water bills,” Bertelson said.
EWCRWS informed their three customers, the City of Taylor, Jonah Water Special Utility District, and Lone Star Regional Water Authority, about the upcoming “chlorine burn,” which is expected to last about a month. Water users in those areas might notice a chlorine taste or odor, but no health risks are expected during the temporary switch.
Ultimately, a chlorine burn is like giving the water system a thorough cleaning, briefly noticeable but definitely effective. While you might smell or taste a hint of chlorine during the process, rest assured, it’s completely safe and only temporary.
Once the system gets its fresh reset, everything returns to normal, clean, clear, and ready to enjoy. Think of it as your water system’s short spa day, all in the name of keeping your drinking water healthy and dependable.