Equipment to disinfect water with electronically-charged ozone was installed at by North Texas Municipal Water District at its Wylie facility at a cost of $127 million. (Joe Reavis/The Princeton Herald)

In response to complaints of a strong smell of chlorine during an annual maintenance process currently underway and a Facebook campaign by environmental activist Erin Brockovich, North Texas Municipal Water District officials assure the public that their drinking water is safe.

Maintenance started Feb. 26 and concludes Monday, March 26. Residents who are sensitive to changes in the water may notice a strong taste or smell of chlorine, although no additional chlorine has been added. The only change has been the discontinuation of ammonia while maintaining all other treatment processes, making the odor of chlorine more noticeable, the district reported.

However, a number of residents served by NTMWD are not convinced that water is safe and have contacted Brockovich who has made several Facebook posts questioning the use of chlorine maintenance by water systems, including NTMWD, Austin, Houston and Tyler.

From Staff Reports • [email protected]

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