On Monday, April 18, New Jersey American Water will resume the use of chloramines (a mixture of chlorine and ammonia) to treat water at its Canal Road and Raritan Millstone Water Treatment Plants. Chloramines have been used in the system for more than 25 years and are an effective method of water disinfection meeting all USEPA and NJDEP drinking water standards.
In mid-February, as part of its system maintenance program, New Jersey American Water temporarily changed its residual disinfectant for the distribution system from chloramines to free chlorine. The two-month changeover to free chlorine enabled the company to perform maintenance on its chemical feed systems and removed any residual ammonia that may have been present in the water distribution system.
During the transition to chlorine some customers may have noticed a slight chlorine taste and odor in their water. With the resumption of the chloramination process, the taste and smell of chlorine will abate.
The following municipalities receive service from the Raritan-Millstone and Canal Road Water Treatment Plants:
Bedminster, Belle Meade, Bound Brook, Branchburg, Bridgewater, Chester, Clark, Cranbury, Cranford, Dunellen, Elizabeth, Edison, Fanwood, Flemington, Franklin, Garwood, Green Brook, Hillside, Hillsborough, Hopewell Township, Jamesburg, Kenilworth, Kingston, Lawrence, Linden, Manville, Martinsville, Middlesex, Millstone, Monroe Township, Montgomery, Mountainside, North Plainfield, Peapak/Gladstone, Piscataway, Plainfield, Plainsboro, Pottersville, Princeton, Raritan, Roselle, Roselle Park, Readington, Scotch Plains, Somerville, South Bound Brook, South Brunswick, South Plainfield, Tewksbury, Union, Warren, Watchung, Westfield, West Windsor, and Winfield Park