The Tampa Water Department will temporarily change its water disinfection process for City of Tampa customers to chlorine between March 16 and April 6. During this period, the department will use chlorine instead of chloramine to disinfect the water distributed to all Water Department customers. This temporary conversion is a standard water system maintenance measure to optimize water quality and offers a sustainable alternative to losing millions of gallons of drinking water via system flushing.
Customers may notice a slight difference in the taste and odor of their drinking water while the chlorine disinfection program is in use. The level of chlorine will be 2.5 to 3.5 milligrams per liter for most customers. (For comparison, one teaspoon of salt is 5,000 milligrams.) This is the same level of chlorine used to treat Tampa’s drinking water for more than 50 years prior to converting to chloramine disinfection in the 1980s.
During the treatment period, the Water Department will conduct daily testing to monitor water quality and assess the effectiveness of the temporary change in the disinfection method.
Health officials advise that kidney dialysis patients should not be impacted by the chlorine treatment but anyone with special health concerns is encouraged to contact their health care provider with questions about their health care.
Individuals who keep fish for a hobby who already have a system in place to remove chloramines from tank or pond water should not be affected. Questions about aquarium maintenance during the temporary treatment period should be referred to local pet care providers.
For more information, contact City of Tampa Utilities at (813) 274-8811, option 3, or visit TampaGov.net/watermaintenance.
For additional information, contact:
Elias Franco, Water Distribution & Consumer Services Manager
Office: (813) 274-8335
Cell: (813) 352-3607
Fax: (813) 274-7435