Williams Lake city staff will move ahead in the design phases of a new water treatment plant for the city which will see changes to what is on tap.
City council approved the use of chloramines as the water system disinfection method at their regular council meeting on Nov. 19.
Disinfection is the final step of the water treatment process, and helps protect residents from pathogens in the water system which are responsible for a number of waterborne diseases.
During the initial design phase, testing revealed complications resulting from high levels of organics in the water which chlorine disinfection would react with to produce carcinogenic by-products. The continued use of chlorine would result in an estimated increase of $13-19 million for the city on the project.
The change to chloramines from chlorine would therefore result in a large savings for the city on the grant-funded project budget.
The city will now work on a public awareness campaign to help residents understand the change and educate them about the safety and effectiveness of chloramine use.
Chloramines are used in a number of other cities, including Victoria, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Red Deer, though they are less well-known in B.C.
