Green

Disinfectants in your drinking water

Article Written by : Healthy Landscapes
Water suppliers often add disinfectants to portable water to control pathogens or organisms that causes diseases. Traditional disinfectants such as chlorine, chloramine and chlorine dioxide are getting increasingly resistant to some known microbial pathogens. These disinfectants are known to cause byproducts that may be harmful to humans. Are they safe to use in our portable water?

Our drinking water is safeguarded by the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine the level of residual disinfectants in our drinking water. These are considered the maximum residual disinfectant level goals to avoid adverse health issues. Chloramine and chlorine levels are not to exceed four parts per million or four milligrams per liter while the chlorine dioxide not to exceed 0.8 milligrams per liter or 800 parts per billion. Additional considerations for setting these goals include the ability of a water agency to provide a level that is considered safe, the cost and benefits. Depending on the size of a community a water provider serves, rules may apply differently. Water services serving less than 10,000 people appear to be the cut-off for Stage 1 Rule while Stage 2 Rules add additional limits to all water services.