PWC Conducts Annual Water Treatment Process Change
during March

February 26, 2010

PWC Water Treatment Process

Beginning Monday, March 1, 2010, the Fayetteville Public Works Commission will temporarily stop adding ammonia to its water treatment disinfection process.  The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources requires all water systems that add ammonia to their drinking water to discontinue its use for a one-month period annually to ensure that any biological growth that may have occurred within the distribution system is controlled.  PWC will resume adding ammonia to the water treatment disinfection process on Thursday, April 1, 2010.

During March some users of PWC water may notice chlorine odor as a result of this change in our treatment process.  Some users of water may also experience periods of discolored water as a result of the required total system flushing that will accompany this change back to chlorine-only disinfection.  Fire hydrants on the PWC water distribution system will be opened periodically throughout the month to flush the system.

Water customers should be aware that during this time, traces of ammonia may still be in the water.  Therefore, PWC recommends that water customers, who pre-treat to remove chloramines prior to the water being used, could continue to do so.

The Public Works Commission began adding ammonia to the water treatment process in March of 2003.  Using ammonia in the treatment process helps to reduce disinfection by-products such as trihalomethanes.  The one-month return to chlorine-only disinfection is not expected to cause any significant increases in disinfection by-products.  The Public Works Commission has been in compliance with all disinfection by-product limits since beginning the addition of ammonia in March of 2003.

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