The City of Shawnee has issued a release regarding its water supply.

The City of Shawnee uses chloramines as a disinfectant to treat drinking water. Chloramines are formed when ammonia is added to chlorine to free drinking water of bacteria, viruses, and other biological organisms during the treatment process.

The typical purpose of chloramines is to provide longer-lasting disinfectant properties to the drinking water treatment as the water moves through the pipes to the final consumers. This type of disinfection is known as secondary disinfection. Chloramines have been used nationwide by water utilities for almost 90 years, and their use is closely regulated. More than one in five Americans uses drinking water treated with chloramines.

Water that contains chloramines and meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory standards, is safe to use for drinking, cooking, bathing, and other household uses. Additionally, using chloramines, a combination of chlorine and ammonia, in the treatment process helps reduce the amount of trihalomethanes.

Trihalomethanes are byproducts formed when water is disinfected with chlorine, according to the EPA. Periodically, chloramine systems may need to complete a chlorine conversion (“burnout”), where the system removes excess ammonia from the treatment process and only uses free chlorine to disinfect the water.

As part of the City of Shawnee’s yearly maintenance program, the water treatment plant is going to do a two-week return to free chlorine treatment, starting December 3 through December 17, 2024. Line Maintenance staff will then flush the distribution lines during the week of December 16, 2024, so as to flush out any remaining unneeded chlorine. This constitutes a normal maintenance procedure, and during this process, your water will continue to be safe to drink. For questions about the change in treatment, contact Jacob Wickware at the City of Shawnee Water Treatment Plant at (405) 273-0890.