Palm Beach County Drinking Water Being Flushed With Chlorine Until August

Hey there, Palm Beach County. Notice how when you turn on the tap, your kitchen suddenly smells like a swimming pool? That's because, as of Monday, county officials are having chlorine flushed through the pipes in a disinfection process that'll last until August. Palm Beach County Water Utilities will be...

By Chris Joseph

July 15, 2014

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Hey there, Palm Beach County. Notice how when you turn on the tap, your kitchen suddenly smells like a swimming pool?

That's because, as of Monday, county officials are having chlorine flushed through the pipes in a disinfection process that'll last until August.

Palm Beach County Water Utilities will be using the chlorine to flush out the pipes of about 500,000 residents.

The process is being done for residents who pay their water bills through Palm Beach County Water Utilities only.

The flushing also includes several fire hydrants around the county, says Assistant Director of Water Utilities Jim Stiles.

"We have a plan in place to flush about 500 of our hydrants to move the stronger disinfection process throughout [the] system," Stiles saysvia WPBF.

He says that the process is safe for customers and that tap water is safe for drinking.

If you happen to be sensitive to chlorine in any way, officials say you can put the water in a refrigerator for a few hours to help the chlorine dissipate before drinking.

But, again, the water is safe to drink directly out of the tap.

Of course, a little more precaution should be taken for people who own fish or are overtly sensitive to chlorine. Definitely don't change the water in the fish tank with the tap water until the flushing process ends next month.

As for the process, Palm Beach County Water Utilities says the flushing is set to run through August 4.

Homes in Belle Glade, Pahokee, and South Bay are not a part of the water treatment.

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