Chloramines in Drinking Water
Chloramines in Drinking Water
*Chloramines are disinfectants used to treat drinking water. Chloramines are most commonly formed when ammonia is added to chlorine to treat drinking water. The typical purpose of chloramines is to provide longer-lasting water treatment as the water moves through pipes to consumers.
This type of disinfection is known as secondary disinfection. Chloramines have been used by water utilities for almost 90 years, and their use is closely regulated. Water that contains chloramines and meets EPA regulatory standards is safe to use for drinking, cooking, bathing and other household uses.
Many utilities use chlorine as their secondary disinfectant; however, in recent years, some of them changed their secondary disinfectant to chloramines to meet disinfection byproduct regulations.
Q. How many people use drinking water that has been treated with chloramine?
**A. Approximately one-third of all public water systems in the United States use chloramine for residual disinfection
*Information from EPA
**Information from PADEP
