McMinnville Water &Light (MWL) has to follow a strict set of rules from both the state and federal levels when providing drinking water to the public. Water utilities using surface water sources are required to implement a disinfection process to protect consumers from microbial contaminants such as bacteria and viruses. One of the most common disinfection methods used is the addition of Sodium Hypochlorite (chlorine), which is used by MWL. The regulatory Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of chlorine in drinking water is 4.0 mg/L. The typical chlorine residual maintained within MWL’s distribution system (customer homes) ranges between 0.2 – 1.2 mg/L. This chlorine residual test is performed daily at both our Water Treatment Plant and our distribution system.
We do not want to lower our chlorine residual as it is an important process to keep our water safe for consumption to the City of McMinnville. A step you can take to help alleviate some of the smell and/or taste of chlorine is to turn on any fixtures (i.e faucets, outdoor water spigots, showers) and let them run for a period of time. This will help flush your homes plumbing system and bring in fresh water into your home. If the water sits in your plumbing system for periods of time without any use, it can trap the smell of chlorine in your pipes and be discharged when the faucet is turned back on. Please don’t hesitate to call our office at 503-472-6158 or read more on our website (www.mc-power.com) for more information about your drinking water.