Rd 1203, Lake Estates, Rd 1205, Hwy 6, Rd 122 , Peoplounger, Rd 1273, Metts, Rd 192, Harlow, Rd 1251, Morningside Drive, Rd 1277 and Butler
There has been a cut water line in the Club Land area. This area will experience water loss or low pressure possibly for the next several hours.
| Who will be affected by the change? All customers receiving water service from the Cason Water District. |
| Will the change in the water supply to a purchased supply from the Northeast Mississippi Regional Water Supply District increase my water bill? No. Due to long range financial planning by the Cason Water District, the significant up-front capital costs and additional annual costs associated with purchased supply will be provided at no additional cost to the customers in the affected area. |
| What is the current drinking water disinfection method? The current system wide method of primary and secondary disinfection used by the Cason Water District is chlorination. |
| Why does the District use chloramine for disinfection? Chloramine is approximately four times more stable than chlorine so it lasts longer in the distribution system. This provides increased protection from bacterial and viral contamination. Chloramination is a better choice as a secondary disinfectant than chlorine alone because chloramine produces lower levels of disinfection by-products. Water utilities have been mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, to eliminate or reduce disinfection by-products from public water supplies. The use of chloramine allows for complaince with the more stringent regulatory standards. |
| What is chloramination? Chloramination is the use of both ammonia and chlorine to disinfect water. Ammonia is added to water at a carefully controlled level. The chlorine and ammonia react chemically to produce combined chlorine or chloramine. |
| Is chloramine new? No. Many cities in the United States and Canada have used chloramine for decades. Denver, Colorado, a City well renowned for high quality drinking water, has used chloramine since 1917. Approximately 20% of water supply systems in the U.S., including Jackson Mississippi, currently use chloramine as a disinfection agent. This percentage is likely to increase drastically over the next few years as a result of more stringent federal regulations. |
| Is chloramine safe? Yes. Chloramine has been used safely in the U.S. and Canada for many years. EPA recommends chloramine as a disinfectant and as a way to avoid THM formation. Without some form of disinfectant in drinking water, disease causing organisms such as typhoid and cholera could be carried in your drinking water. Chloraminated Water Is Safe For Everyone to Drink, including: · Pregnant women,· Children and infants,· People on kidney dialysis· People on low sodium diets, · People with diabetes, and· Warm-blooded pets (dogs, cats, birds, pigs, etc.) Chloraminated water is safe for all warm-blooded animals and humans to drink because the digestive process neutralizes the chloramine before it reaches the bloodstream. (Chloraminated water is not safe for cold-blooded animals.) Chloraminated water is also safe for bathing, cooking, and all uses we have for everyday water. |
| What are disinfection by-products? Disinfection by-products are chemical compounds that are formed when chlorine mixes with very small quantities of natural organics in water. These disinfection by-products, called tri-halomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), result from reactions of chlorine with the small amounts of naturally occurring organic substances in filtered drinking water. Both THMs and HAAs are suspected carcinogens (cancer causing substances) when present at elevated levels and consumed over long periods of time. |
| What are Trihalomethanes (THMs)? THMs are a group of four chemical compounds that are formed along with other disinfection by-products when chlorine mixes with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted tests which determined that chloroform (one of the THMs) is carcinogenic when consumed by laboratory animals in large quantities over a prolonged period of time, and is a suspected carcinogen for people. To ensure your safety, EPA set a standard of 80 parts per billion as the maximum level of THMs allowable drinking water. |
| What are haloacetic acids (HAAs)? Haloacetic Acids are a group of chemicals that are formed along with other disinfection by-products when chlorine, used to control microbial contaminants in drinking water, reacts with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted tests that determined that HAAs might be carcinogenic when consumed in large quantities over a prolonged period of time. EPA set a standard of 60 parts per billion as the safe maximum level of HAAs in drinking water. |
| What about people who are sensitive to chemicals? The amount of chloramine will be extremely small – no more than 4 drops of chloramine per every million drops of water (or approximately 275 gallons of water). If you are concerned that even this low concentration might cause problems for you, check with your physician. The predominant type of chloramine will be monochloramine (NH2Cl) and will be in the ratio of 5 parts chlorine to one part ammonia-nitrogen. |
| Does bottled water contain chloramine? It could. If the bottled water company uses water from a supplier that uses chloramine disinfection, then the water it provides will have chloramines in it, unless the company takes special steps to remove it. |
| Will chloramine affect my swimming pool? No. You will still need a free-chlorine residual to retard algae and bacteria growth. The chlorine chemicals and test kits you currently use can still be used effectively. Contact your local pool supply store for any specific questions. |
| How will chloramination affect water customers? For most customers, the only noticeable change will be an improvement in the taste and odor of the drinking water. Only three groups of water customers – fish, reptile, and amphibian owners, dialysis facilities, and businesses using or requiring highly treated water – need to take precautions with chloraminated water. People with weakened immune systems, including infants, elderly people and persons with HIV/AIDS or who are undergoing chemotherapy, etc. should consult a health professional about whether to use specially treated water instead of water from normal public sources using either chlorinated or chloraminated drinking water. |
| Will chloramination affect routine household water uses? Chloramination will not affect routine water uses such as food preparation, household laundering and dishwashing, bathing, etc. |
| Will the water taste be different after the conversion to chloramine? Yes. We are counting on the taste of water to improve with chloramine. We also expect there to be less odor of chlorine, which is disagreeable to some customers. |
| Can I Safely Water Ornamental Plants, Vegetables or Fruit and Nut Trees? Will Beneficial Soil Bacteria Be Harmed? The small amount of chloramine should have no effect on plants of any type. Beneficial bacteria will generally be protected by the soil in which they live. Chloramine will be removed by the high chlorine demand in the soil. |
| What will be the amount of chloramine in the water? It will range from two to three milligrams per liter. (Two to three parts chloramine to one million parts of water). |
| How can I remove chloramine from my drinking water? Carbon filtration systems can be effective in removing chloramines. Chloramine is a little bit more stubborn than chlorine and requires a longer contact time (the time that the water is in contact with the carbon media). Generally, a contact time provided by a flow rate of less than one gallon per minute will allow thorough removal of chloramine. Consult your filter manufacturer for more specific information. |
| Will the water filter I use to remove chlorine from my water at home also remove chloramine? Possibly. Any activated carbon water filter removes chloramine just as it removes chlorine. However, consult your manufacturer for specific information. |
| Do home water softeners remove chloramine? Most water softeners are not designed to remove chloramine. |
| Will a carbon filter remove chloramine? Yes, however, it must contain high quality granular activated carbon and you must allow sufficient contact time. See your filter provider for details. |
| Do I need to take any special precautions when using chloraminated water? Only three special groups need to take precautions with chloraminated water: fish, reptile, and amphibian owners, dialysis facilities, and businesses using or requiring highly treated water. |
| What side effects should I be concerned about? Chloraminated water may cause fish to die, because fish take water directly into their bloodstream. Dialysis patients need to use treated water because water comes into direct contact with the bloodstream, and chloramine is damaging to blood. |
| If chloramine is toxic, won’t it harm people and pets? Chloramine is harmful when it goes directly into the blood stream, as happens in kidney dialysis. Fish also take chloramine directly into their bloodstreams. That’s why chloramine must be removed from water that goes into kidney dialysis machines or is used in fish tanks and ponds. Chloramine is not harmful when ingested or when used for all other normal activities, such as cooking and cleaning. |
| If chloramine shouldn’t mix with blood, is it safe to drink water containing it? Yes. Everyone can drink water that’s chloraminated because the digestive process neutralizes the chloramine before it reaches the bloodstream. Even kidney dialysis patients can drink, cook, and bathe in chloraminated water. It’s only when water interacts directly with the bloodstream, as in dialysis or in a fish’s gill, that chloramine must be removed. |
| Can you safely wash an open wound with chloraminated water? Yes. Even large amounts of water used in cleaning a wound would have no effect because virtually no water enters the bloodstream that way. |
| Can people with kidney ailments, on low-sodium diets, or with diabetes use chloraminated water? Yes. People with those medical conditions can use chloraminated water for all purposes. |
| How does chloramine affect fish, amphibians, and some reptiles? Chloramine is harmful to fish, amphibians, and reptiles and must be removed from the water just as chlorine is harmful and must be removed. You may not have to actively remove chlorine from your aquarium water, however, because it breaks up rapidly on its own. This is not the case with chloramine, so steps should be taken to remove it. Most pet stores have sold de-chlorinating agents for years. These chemicals used to remove chlorine and ammonia should work just as well for chloramine though the dosage may vary. Several chemical manufactures have added chloramine information to their product labels. Fish tank and pond owners, including zoos, hobbyists, restaurants, fish markets, grocery stores with lobster tanks, and bait shops with fish containers, must have appropriate filtration equipment or use water treatment products to neutralize chloramine and may need to take measures to adjust the pH levels to a neutral range of 6.5 to 7.4 and remove excess ammonia. |
| Does chloramine have any effects on plumbing? Though not considered a major or widespread problem, chloramine may cause household plumbing and water heater parts to degrade faster. Older rubber lined braided stainless steel water heater flex connectors can be replaced with copper flex, corrugated stainless flex or the newer neoprene formulations of braided stainless steel flex. When replacing rubber-plumbing parts, ask for chloramine resistant parts. If you purchase any device that is in constant contact with water for your home or business, confirm that it is chloramine resistant. Plumbing and hardware stores will be able to provide further information. |
| Is there any free ammonia in the water as this is corrosive to copper pipe? No. Free ammonia from chloraminated water, if any, will not be a significant factor in copper pipe corrosion. |
| Would you like more information? Contact the office:Cason Water District30007 Cason RoadNettleton, MS 38858Phone (662) 256-2442Fax (662) 869-1794Email casonwater@att.netWebsite casonwaterdistrict.com |