A city worker opens up a fire hydrant in December 2016 along S. Padre Island Drive. City water should smell and taste less like a swimming pool this week as the city returns to its routine water treatment process beginning May 1. Photo by Carrie Robertson Meyer
The chlorine smell in the city’s tap water should begin to dissipate as of Monday, May 1, when the city switches back to chloramine disinfectant, its normal treatment procedure. For the past few weeks, an alternative disinfectant, known as free chlorine, was used to cleanse the system.
Chlorine dioxide was added April 17 and comes with a chlorine smell and taste similar to swimming pool water. The switch was made to help prevent health scares similar to those in the past two years. The city has had four major water issues that ranged from parts of the city having to boil water to a citywide water boil notice to a citywide ban on using water, all within about 18 months.
City officials said it will take five to seven days for the entire water system to be clear of the additive.
Water samples will be taken throughout the system as part of the overall water quality program, the city announced in a media release. A list of water quality reports is available at corpuschristiwater.com.
