Fish and amphibian owners need to review new SF water treatment

Marina Times | July 2003 | Susan Landry

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), which supplies drinking water to all San Francisco residents, has launched a major outreach campaign to inform customers about an upcoming change in the drinking water disinfectant. The water quality improvement will require fish and amphibian owners to change the way they prepare water for fish tanks and aquariums.

In Fall 2003, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will switch from chlorine to chloramine disinfection of drinking water. Chloramine, a combination of chlorine and ammonia, is a proven disinfectant considered more effective than chlorine alone, as it lasts longer in water to more effectively remove pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. It also substantially reduces disinfection byproducts, such as trihalomethanes, which are possible carcinogens.

With the conversion to chloramine, San Francisco residents will continue to receive the highest quality waater.

"The Chloramine Conversion Project strengthens our efforts to provide the highest quality drinking water to our customers," General Manager Patricia E. Martel said. "The conversion to chloramine will help us meet new and future water quality regulations, enhance water quality, and will probably improve taste and odor, based on reports from other water agencies," Martel added.

Chloraminated water is safe for people and animals to drink, and for all other general uses. However, as with chlorine, chloramine must be removed for fish and amphibian use, for businesses requiring highly treated water such as laboratories and microchip manufacturers, and for the kidney dialysis treatment process.

Unlike chlorine, chloramine cannot be removed from water by boiling, or by letting an open container of water stand to dissipate chlorine gas. It can only be neutralized, or removed with specific treatment methods. Inexpensive products for removing chloramine for fish and amphibian tanks are readily available at pet and aquarium supply stores.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

The High-Stakes Balacing Act of Water Treatment

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Water system deadly to dialysis patients?

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[Sloth]

I wonder what the ratio is between the millions of illnesses & deaths historically prevented by chlorine disinfection, compared to the cancer deaths statistically caused by THMs and HAAs.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Chlorine/Chloramine & House Plants

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Chloramine - Are there negative health effects?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I never was all that brilliant at chemistry in college (an unremarkable "C" student 90% of the time due to the fact that I was a party hound), but I seem to remember something about a really noxious gas with this combination. Not to mention that I'd have questions about the by products from any reactions used to remove it.

So whats the scoop, Doc? This stuff deadly over a length of time?

[TheBattman]

A non-story. 99% of those products that most aquarium keepers use to remove chlorine also remove chloramine. Many municipal water suppliers have been using chloramine for several years.

And the statement about it not evaporating when boiling or letting water stand is false. Yes the compound is more resistant and stays in the water longer under similar circumstances (the reason many water suppliers are using it), but it does come out when boiled or let to stand - it just takes longer.

Test for yourself. Get a chlorine/chloramine test kit (fairly cheap at most pet shops). Test the concentration straight from the tap. Then set up a couple of experiments - an open container left on the counter, and open container left on the window sill, and boil some. Test the open air containers after a few days - see if the concentration doesn't go down. Even better - test the boiled sample several times.

If chloramine were that difficult to remove from water, imagine what it would do to your body!

[Right Wing Professor]

The noxious gas was indeed probably chloramine. I don't know of any problems attributed to low levels of it, but the problem it's aimed at solving (trihalomethanes in the water due to a reaction of chlorine with organic material) is (1) probably not a real problem, but mostly a result of scare tactics from the enviroloonies (2)only there because you have crappy water to begin with.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

I wonder if chloramine will make the water taste worse than chlorine already does?

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Drinking Water Contaminants

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Interesting! Thanks!

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

I wish I had given this thread a different title. I'm actually more concerned about chloramine's effect on people. Maybe I'll ask the mods.

[telebob]

Chloramine was first used as a potable water disinfectant in the early 1900's but was not widely accepted due to cost factors and handling porblems. Sodium hypochlorite and chlorine gas became the standards for most of the last century.

Chloramine is now coming back into favor due to better science in the field and a greater emphasis on removing sources of possible carcinogens.

The biggest problem with chloramine disinfection is the possible production of nitrates. This can occur when the chlorine/ammonia compound breaks apart, releasing free ammonia into the medium. A typical ratio would be five parts chlorine to one part ammonia. Free ammonia can combine with other agents to produce nitrites which in turn can evolve into nitrates, which at certain high levels, can be a health hazard, mainly to infants and toddlers.

All US public water agencies conform to rigid sampling and testing regimens to insure that disinfection is done correctly with the minimum possibility of disinfection byproducts being produced.

The benefits of using chloramine over chlorine are that chloramine degrades much more slowly than chlorine and improves secondary 'finish' characteristics such as taste and odor.

BTW, ozone is good as a point of treatment disinfectant but does not provide prtotection from pathogens that may be in the distribution system.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

More info at SFWATER.ORG

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Thanks! That was extremely informative.

[norraad]

Ozone makes it taste great too, a Dr. pal o'mine has an ozonator(basically a strong UV light the water passes through during last stage of filtration).

[Sloth]

(1) probably not a real problem, but mostly a result of scare tactics from the enviroloonies (2)only there because you have crappy water to begin with.

Right on both counts. Many utilities just moved their chlorination post-filtration & built big baffled storage tanks so that the crap gets mostly removed before the chlorine ever has a chance to react with it.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

How does an ozonator compare with a Brita filter? I just recently acquired a Brita filter, and was wondering if I should go back to bottled water, or get an ozonator?