Manchester Water Works is dropping the levels of chlorine in tap water after more than a month of higher chlorine concentrations as a preventative maintenance measure, officials said.
On Aug. 14, Water Works converted its chloramine disinfection process to chlorine as a preventative maintenance measure.
Manchester Water Works periodically switches the disinfectant it uses from chloramine to chlorine as part of the maintenance of its water distribution systems. The most recent switch was performed in November 2021.
Staff said in a statement “over the past six weeks we have seen very positive distribution system water quality results,” and plan to convert back to chloramine on Monday, Oct. 2.
Chloramine, a chemical composed of chlorine and ammonia, lacks the taste and odor problems of straight chlorine.
Water Works started using chloramine as a secondary disinfectant in 2006. It is added to tap water at a concentration of 2.5 parts per million.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the safe use of chlorine and chloramine.
Anyone with questions about the conversion or other concerns about their water quality is asked to contact the Manchester Water Works Laboratory at 603-792-2855 Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.