That's due to a maintenance program undertaken annually by New Jersey American Water. The water treatment will affect customers in parts of the following counties: Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union.
The temporary change in the treatment process will take place at the company's Raritan-Millstone and Canal Road Water Treatment plants.
“This periodic, scheduled change in disinfectant is a standard water treatment practice that allows us to continue to provide safe, high-quality water for our customers,” said Laura Norkute, Director of Water Quality and Environmental Compliance, New Jersey American Water. “We perform this distribution system maintenance program every year as an added measure of disinfection in our distribution system.”
The temporary treatment process will begin the week of Feb. 12, and continue until the end of April. During this period, some customers may notice a slight taste and smell of chlorine in their water. This is normal and will only be temporary until the system maintenance is complete. Customers who wish to reduce the taste of chlorine can place water in an uncovered glass container in the refrigerator overnight to dissipate chlorine faster.
“We will continue to monitor water quality in the system to continue to provide service that meets or is better than federal and state drinking water standards,” Norkute said.
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