From April 22 through May 6, Sarasota County Public Utilities will temporarily modify its drinking (potable) water disinfection process as part of routine maintenance. The water will remain safe to drink.
Brooke Bailey, public utilities director for Sarasota County, explained the process:
“What does this mean for you? This means that we will be treating our water now, instead of with chlorine and ammonia, we will just be treating it and disinfecting it with chlorine.”
This process has many benefits, including improving the overall quality of the drinking water by removing any sediments and other materials that may accumulate in pipes and decreasing potential for corrosion in pipes. The last time Sarasota County performed this process was for 30 days in April 2023.
“This time, it will only be two weeks," Bailey said. "Some of the common concerns that we had were around taste and odor, as it is a different type of disinfectant. However, it is completely safe, and other utilities in the surrounding community actually use it every single day.”
During this period, the water will be disinfected with free chlorine rather than chlorine combined with ammonia (chloramines). This routine process, known as a free chlorine conversion, helps maintain water quality in distribution systems, as recommended by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Other participating utilities in this free chlorine conversion include Charlotte County Utilities, DeSoto County Utilities, Englewood Water District and City of North Port Utilities.
What Customers Should Know:
- Water will remain safe to drink throughout the process. Boiling water is not necessary.
- Customers may notice a temporary change in the taste and smell of the water.
- Discolored water may stain laundry. Homeowners should flush any cloudy or discolored water that may enter the plumbing by running a faucet for several minutes or until the water runs clear.
Kidney dialysis patients who use a proportioning machine to prepare dialysate at home should contact their physician or equipment supplier for proper filtering adjustments.
Aquarium owners should monitor the chlorine levels and take necessary precautions recommended by a professional aquarist to ensure proper pretreatment of the water before adding or changing the water in the tank to avoid any problems associated with chlorine.
Local utilities will flush the water distribution system to help the free chlorine circulate efficiently.
For more information about the water-free chlorine conversion, visit scgov.net.
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