Water Quality
March 15, 2018
NTMWD water complies with all regulatory standards and remains safe to drink and use.
The District’s disinfection process is necessary to eliminate bacteria and viruses in the water supply and distribution system.
The most commonly used disinfectants for water treatment are chlorine, chloramine (chlorine + ammonia) and ozone. Other major water providers use these same treatment processes. Forty-five percent of the U.S. population is served by public water supplies using chloramine.
NTMWD uses all three. Ozone is the most powerful form of disinfection. It decreases the amount of chlorine needed and thus lowers the formation of disinfection byproducts. Chlorine and chloramine are used to ensure the water remains safe as it moves through the pipes throughout our system. These also ensure that the water quality is consistent through the far reaches of the regional and local systems.
Federal and state regulations in place are scientifically proven to keep drinking water safe and NTMWD meets those requirements.
NTMWD is conducting a temporary 30-day proactive maintenance process that is accepted by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The maintenance period ends March 26.
Residents may experience a stronger smell of chlorine during this temporary maintenance, however we have not increased the amount of chlorine in the water. The only change during this maintenance period has been the discontinuation of ammonia while maintaining all other treatment processes. The odor will be more noticeable due to the lack of ammonia.
NTMWD collects and processes hundreds of samples each day and reports results in our online water quality reports and to regulatory agencies.
Additionally, NTMWD collects a series of quality control samples to optimize the treatment process. Data from these samples shows that levels of disinfection byproducts are well within the regulatory requirements. Test data from the week of March 5 show levels at 28 parts per billion (ppb) which is well below the regulatory standard of 80 ppb for trihalomethanes.
