Gosford City residents may be experiencing an increased taste or odour of chlorine in the water supply due to Council’s ongoing commitment to protecting and maintaining water quality.

Council has increased chlorine levels throughout the Gosford water supply system to provide an extra barrier of protection for the region’s drinking water supply.

Council’s Manager Water and Sewer Operations Michael Redrup said there is no need for residents to take any action before using the town water supply.

“Customer awareness of chlorine in the water supply is a good sign as chlorine helps to maintain the quality of the water as it moves through the system.

“The region’s water supply fully complies with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

“However, Council’s recent monitoring highlighted the need to increase chlorine levels within the outer areas of the water supply network to provide additional assurance of ongoing compliance with the Guidelines,” Mr Redrup said.

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines recommend concentrations of or above 0.2 milligrams of free chlorine per litre of water (mg/L) throughout the system.

“The additional chlorine dosing has been taking place over recent months and the average concentration found in the water supply since February is approximately 0.48 mg/L.

“Many members of the community are unlikely to notice the slight increase in the chlorine concentrations, as it remains below the general odour threshold. However, some people may be more sensitive to chlorine and will notice chlorine odour and taste at these levels.

“Some suburbs have been experiencing temporary spikes in chlorine levels during the additional dosing, with the highest reading 1.61 mg/L. Despite this, the chlorine in the water supply is still well below the recommended maximum health based level of 5mg/L.

“Over the coming weeks, chlorine levels will stabilise across the entire supply network and we expect the spikes in chlorine levels affecting some residents to decrease.

“Until levels stabilise, those residents noticing the higher chlorine levels can fill a clean container with water and let it rest before use to help reduce the taste or odour,” Mr Redrup added.

More information about drinking water quality can be found at www.gosford.nsw.gov.au.

-ENDS-