What’s with the chlorine in LCA tap water?

Some of our customers have been asking questions about Lehigh County Authority’s use of chlorine to make their water safe to drink.

Why do we use chlorine? Because even though LCA’s water sources are high quality — in most cases, from deep wells drawing water from the local groundwater supply — it’s still necessary to eliminate any pathogens that may have entered the supply.

Rest assured that in all service areas, the amount of chlorine used to treat drinking water fall within state and federal requirements, which call for a a minimum disinfenction rate of 0.40 milligrams per liter (mgL) and a maximum residual disinfectant level in our distribution system of 4.0 mgL. LCA strives to keep the chlorine level you are receiving below 1.0 mgL to reduce the noticeable taste of chlorine, but higher rates are sometimes necessary to ensure proper disinfection.

While the chlorine level in your tap water falls within the required limits, some customers may want to go a step further and remove the chlorine from their water to improve the taste.

A number of options available:

The first, and most inexpensive, is to let the chlorine dissipate naturally, and to chill your tap water in the fridge. Leave a pitcher of water, uncapped, in your fridge overnight, and the chlorine taste will be significantly reduced.

The second option is to filter your drinking water – use a filtered pitcher or a filtration system on your kitchen faucet. If you have a refrigerator with an ice/water dispensing option, there’s a good possibility that it already has a filtration system. If you’re not sure, check the owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer.

Other options include installing an under-the-sink filtration system, or a whole-house filtration system. Keep in mind that these systems must be installed according to your municipality’s building codes, and proper permits must be obtained.