PA Chloramine Facts

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has imposed new, stringent regulations to address known health risks associated with disinfection byproducts in chlorinated water. To comply with the tougher standards, many water systems across the country are transitioning from chlorine to a safe, proven disinfectant known as chloramine. Pennsylvania American Water’s West Shore, Brownsville and Uniontown water systems are among the water systems that successfully made the change.

Chloramination is a common disinfection process used by the water industry in which a small amount of ammonia in water is added to chlorine in water at the end of our treatment process. The EPA widely accepts chloramine as an effective treatment to prevent the waterborne transmission of parasites that are capable of causing sickness. For decades, cities in Pennsylvania and across the United States and Canada have relied on chloramine to treat their drinking water. In fact, one in three Pennsylvanians uses water treated with chloramine for cooking, bathing, cleaning and drinking.

Three Pennsylvania American Water Systems Transition to Chloramine in 2012

As a result of new, more stringent drinking water standards, Pennsylvania American Water has changed the way our drinking water is treated for customers in the following systems:

• Coatesville System - the transition of the treatment process successfully took place on March 7, 2012, for customers we serve in western Chester County.
• Pittsburgh and Washington Systems - the transition of the treatment process successfully took place on March 22, 2012, for customers we serve in Allegheny and Washington Counties.
• Hershey System - the transition of the treatment process successfully took place on July 12, 2012, for customers we serve in Dauphin and Lebanon Counties.