Evansville's tap water may smell different soon. Here's why.
EVANSVILLE — On May 20, the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility will switch to a different disinfectant during its water treatment process.
The change will continue through July 8, during which time customers may notice a slight odor change in their tap water, according to a news release from EWSU.
"The switch to free chlorine from the regularly used disinfectant chloramine is a common preventive maintenance practice by many utilities to keep water mains clean and free of potentially harmful bacteria year-round," the news release states.
EWSU does this switch two times a year. The next will start Aug. 26 and continue through Oct. 14.
The utility typically uses chloramine as its disinfectant, which is made of chlorine and ammonia. Free chlorine is slightly more potent. It's used to remove more resistant bacteria and viruses found in the water distribution system, according to EWSU.
EWSU also reminds patients on kidney dialysis that like chloramine, free chlorine must be removed from water used in kidney dialysis machines.
"EWSU has contacted representatives from the medical community to inform them of this temporary conversion," the release states. "We advise dialysis patients to call their physicians or dialysis centers if there are any questions."
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Why does my water smell weird?
