It’s time for a water flush.
All water providers under the Neuse Regional Water and Sewer Authority will be undergoing a flushing of the ammonia-based system using chlorine.
“This is the annual conversion we do every year for four weeks,” Brian Lucas, Water Resources manager for the city of Kinston, said.
The water conversion from chloramines to chlorine will begin March 18 and continue for four weeks until April 15.
Chloramines, a more stable mixture of chlorine and ammonia than chlorine alone, are the disinfectant used in the water treatment process to reduce the level of byproducts to meet federal Environmental Protection Agency requirements.
State guidelines recommend water systems annually use chlorine, a stronger disinfectant, for at least a four-week period to keep the lines free of harmful bacteria.
Water customers may temporarily notice a slight taste or smell of chlorine in the tap water. This is normal and poses no health risk. The water will continue to meet state and federal guidelines.
“(Customers) should not notice a difference in their water for most household water users,” Lucas said.
Dialysis centers, people using home dialysis, medical facilities and aquatic pet owners may need to take special precautions.
“We have notified all our industrial customers,” Lucas said, referring to dialysis centers, hospitals and food processing plants.
People who undergo dialysis at home should test their dialysate batches as they normally do and switch to a pre-mixed solution if the chlorine is high, said Ashley Emory, a home dialysis nurse with the Vernon Dialysis Unit of Fresenius Medical Care.
“If there’s too much chlorine,” she said, “they can’t use the dialysate batch that they made at home.”
If after fours days of using the pre-mix the levels are still high, patients will need to go to the dialysis center, Emory said.
Fish and other aquatic pet owners should use a chlorinator as they normally do, Debbie Hauter, owner of Fin-Tastic fish and pets store.
“Everything we use in the store here takes out chlorine, chloramines and ammonia,” she said.
Hauter said if the water seems heavier with chlorine, pet owners may need to increase the amount of chlorinator they add to the tank. Follow the manufacturer directions on the chlorinator bottle.
Breakout box:
For information about the chlorine flush, contact your local water provider:
City of Kinston 252-939-3282
Deep Run Water Corp. 252-568-3006
Town of Grifton 252-524-5168
North Lenoir Water Corp. 252-527-8352
Town of Pink Hill 252-568-3181
To know when your area will be affected, see area maps in The Free Press on March 18-20.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter at MargaretFishr.