During February, the City of Paris Water Utilities Department will temporarily change the process used to treat water and the Paris Fire Department will begin annual fire hydrant grading. The projects are part of regular water supply system maintenance. The water remains safe to drink and for laundry, hygiene, and other uses.
The Paris Water Utilities Department commonly treats water with the widely used disinfectant Chloramine. Chloramine is a combination of free chlorine and ammonia. In January, the city received approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the short-term change. During February, the system will remove the ammonia from the treatment process, and customers may notice a change in the taste and smell of water used in their homes and businesses.
“We will change the disinfectant for the entire month of February, and that process, coupled with flushing the lines, helps rid the distribution system of organic matter ahead of high summer temperatures,” Director of Public Utilities Danny Rowell said. “We do this in February of each year, and it helps us maintain TCEQ Superior Water System status.”
According to the TCEQ website, many water systems use temporary disinfectant changes as preventive maintenance to kill bacteria that, though harmless when consumed by humans, can cause changes to water taste and odor and create issues with maintaining a disinfectant residual in the system. In conjunction with the disinfectant change, flushing the lines is part of the regular maintenance activity.
Each year, the Paris Fire Department grades fire hydrants based on the amount of water available from a hydrant. Firefighters will flush hydrants briefly and measure the available water flow. Crews will paint hydrant tops using an internationally recognized color coding system. During a fire, the colored tops help quickly identify the flow rate available from a hydrant.
“The fire hydrant grading process includes all the more than 1,400 city and privately owned fire hydrants in Paris,” Fire Chief Thomas McMonigle explained. “When firefighters arrive at a fire scene it’s critical that we locate hydrants that will adequately supply the water we need to our trucks.”
The city will reintroduce ammonia to the treatment process in March, and any taste or odor changes should be resolved. Hydrant flushing and grading will continue until testing is complete. Anyone with questions can contact the Paris Utilities Department at 903-784-2464.
