Beginning September 30, the Trenton Municipal Utilities Water Treatment Plant will start utilizing free chlorine, or a free chlorine conversion, in its water system. This involves feeding free chlorine, instead of chloramines (chlorine combined with ammonia), as the disinfectant when leaving the Water Treatment Plant.
This will impact customers of Trenton Municipal Utilities, Grundy County PWSD #1, the City of Galt, and the City of Spickard. Western Sullivan County will also be affected if they are using water from TMU. This will occur for 6 to 8 weeks.
Here are some commonly asked questions about free chlorine conversion and their purpose:
- Possible Noticeable Effects: There are no associated health risks with the process. During these efforts to improve water quality, there may be times of lower water pressure, possible odor, taste, discoloration, and small particles in the water. TMU and/or your water service will attempt to flush the particles, color, taste and odors from the mains with directional flushing. However, there is a possibility that some of the color, odor, and taste will get into your service line.
- Is my Water Safe to Drink? Yes, the TMU Water Department is dedicated to ensuring the water is safe to drink and will monitor disinfectant levels continually during the conversion. If you experience an odor or taste in your water, it does not mean it is unsafe to drink. Odors are caused by the free chlorine disinfectant cleansing the system. Nuisance issues will be resolved as the work is completed.
- Why is this Conversion Necessary? TMU and its customer departments are tasked with ensuring that the water at all points of their systems is acceptable to their customers. Over time, minerals and metals, which are naturally present in the water source, can increase and attach to pipe walls, and release when there are changes in pressure, resulting in discoloration and affecting taste. Other processes such as nitrification and the growth of biofilm can also occur in the water distribution system. The biofilm can cause a reduction in the effectiveness of residual disinfectants over time. This free chlorine conversion will help cleanse the pipe walls, reduce the occurrence of nitrification and biofilm, and ensure that we provide quality water for our customers.
If there are questions or concerns, please contact the Water Treatment Plant at (660)359-3211.
Flushing will begin on 1 October 2023, west of the railroad tracks by the water treatment plant.
