Woodsy North Port has seen its share of wildfires, but this week, its water is getting all the attention.
From now through May 6, the city is modifying the trace amounts of chlorine in its drinking water to harmlessly clean and disinfect the piping. North Port’s water remains safe to drink, cook with, and bathe in throughout the process.
Because the region’s drinking water pipes are one interconnected system, it’s something every municipality needs to do every couple of years.
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- Sarasota County Public Utilities to conduct free-chlorine conversion
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Think of Southwest Florida’s drinking water distribution system as an intrastate freeway system, with off-ramps to highways, city streets, and backroads. Various government agencies are largely responsible for maintaining the roads that run through their boundaries so people can drive on decent streets from a major city to a campground 50 miles away.
Southwest Florida’s drinking water system doesn’t recognize municipal boundaries, either. The pipes carrying clean water flow in from reservoirs, lakes, and rivers, through treatment plants, and out through increasingly smaller pipes until the clean water pours from your tap far away from the reservoir.
Just like municipalities must keep the roads in repair, so must they keep the inside of the drinking water pipes clean and free of harmful stuff.
That’s what North Port is doing now. Lee and Sarasota counties did the same not long ago, and the process repeats every few years.
Water customers will be able to tell when the disinfecting is underway due to several tell-tale signs.
“Mustard is safe to eat, but mustard also stains your clothes. Just because it stains your clothes doesn't necessarily mean that it's not safe to consume.” - Michael Drennan, North Port utilities supervisor
During the two-week process, the water may give off a slight bleach-like odor, leaving some to wonder if the water is truly safe to drink.
It is. Anything used in the process is a food-grade additive.
“The water may have a noticeable, like, swimming pool smell to it. A bleach-like smell,” said Michael Drennan, North Port’s utilities superintendent. “And again, it's normal. It’s just because of the type of disinfectant that we're using.”
However, North Port water customers on kidney dialysis need to talk with their physicians if they have any questions on the correct filters to handle the temporary chemical changes in the water.
Customers using the water for aquariums should monitor the chlorine levels so aquatic critters don’t die.
Dirt and other foul matter are often dislodged during the process, so clothes can come out of the washer dirtier than when they went in leaving some to, again, wonder how that type of water can be safe to ingest.
“Mustard is safe to eat, but mustard also stains your clothes,” Drennan said. “Just because it stains your clothes doesn't necessarily mean that it's not safe to consume.”
Drennan said if clothes come out dirty, open a tap and let the water flow until it’s clear. Then add fresh detergent and wash the clothes again.
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by Volo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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