Beginning on Monday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Washington Aqueduct, which serves both Washington D.C. and parts of Northern Virginia, will start cleaning some 13-hundred miles of water pipe. To do this, they switch from a chloramine disinfectant to chlorine. Both DC Water and Arlington Water say it's not harmful and routine for every major water utility nationwide.
If you notice a chlorine-like smell or taste in your tap water, suggestions given are to run your tap water for 2 minutes and then use a filter. Or customers can put a pitcher of water in the refrigerator for a few hours for the taste and smell to subside.
For Arlington residents in particular, in addition to the disinfection process, the county also opens fire hydrants to conduct a system-wide flush. Arlington Water says this is to enhance water quality, but this does also come with a warning.
Flushing of the system also has the potential to cause discolored water which may stain your clothing if doing laundry during the county's "flush periods."
Beats getting cholera, coccidiosis or Giardia.
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