Your water may taste funny come Sunday after OWASA's disinfection process changes

The Orange Water and Sewage Authority announced temporary changes to its water disinfection process for the month of March in a recent news release.

Starting Sunday at midnight, the agency will switch from its typical chlorine and ammonia, also known as chloramine, treatment mixture to solely chlorine.

Katie Harwell, OWASA water treatment plant laboratory supervisor, said this switch is an annual occurrence to keep up with statewide regulations. 

Chlorine is a stronger disinfectant but less stable than chloramine, she said. Though chloramine is the default treatment, the month-long switch to chlorine is because it serves as a more powerful cleaning agent. 

“By using a short amount of time where we disinfect with chlorine and then using a really stable disinfectant the rest of the year, we are able to ensure year-round, good disinfection,” Harwell said.

The switch is done in March because hot weather causes the chlorine to be more reactive, she added. 

OWASA works with several neighboring water service agencies, like Durham, to complete the process at the same time. Blake Hodge, the agency's communications specialist, said this is necessary to ensure local water systems are both reliable and high-quality.

“We’re cleaning out the pipes and the water along the way to make sure that what we’re delivering to customers at the end is still safe, high-quality drinking water that meets all standards,” he said. “It’s a preventative maintenance thing to make sure that we’re not having a lapse in the system anywhere.”

Throughout the treatment process, all water will remain safe and drinkable. Residents may notice a slight change in taste and odor, but Hodge and Harwell said not to worry. 

OWASA provided a variety of remedies for this change in taste if it bothers consumers. These remedies include leaving water in an open container to allow the chlorine to dissipate, adding lemon slices to water to dilute the taste or boiling the water for one minute. 

Sarah Kurtz, a Chapel Hill resident of two years, said she doesn’t notice the change in taste but doesn’t consider the water possibly tasting "worse" a major issue.

“I’m willing to drink it if it tastes weird, but I’d prefer not to,” she said. “If I need water, I need water.”

Part of the treatment procedure involves flushing, a process in which fire hydrants are used to disperse the chlorinated water throughout the 400 miles of water pipes in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area. Harwell said it is an effective method for faster water turnover.

“We want to test the water all the way out to the edges of our system and make sure chlorinated water is making its way all the way out there,” she said. “Flushing is a way that we increase the speed with which that happens."

Hodge said this should have no impact on main roads or traffic, but those living on narrow streets should be watchful.

“If you see our crews out there, please give them a little bit of patience if they’re having to direct traffic,” he said. “Otherwise, there should not be any major traffic impacts.”

OWASA’s main goal is to continue providing reliable water services to its customers. 

“We are a really dedicated team that is here working around the clock to make sure that our community has safe drinking water,” Harwell said.

For more information, residents can visit The Orange Water and Sewage Authority website at www.owasa.org.

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