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St. Augustine Testing May Affect Water's Taste Or Smell

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St Augustine residents may be wondering why their tap water suddenly has more of a chlorine taste or smell.

Public Works Director Mike Cullum told WJCT News the city is in the process of fine-tuning the amounts of chlorine and ammonia in the water supply to keep it safe to drink.

“The Chlorine is an oxidant that basically keeps things from growing in the water. You don’t want to be drinking water that has algae or bacteria or anything like that in it. And that’s what the chemical adjustments ensure,” said Cullum.

Even though the water might smell or taste funny, he says it’s still okay to use.

The process began this past Friday and Cullum says getting the levels just right could take up to three weeks.

Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.

Photo used under Creative Commons license.

Cyd Hoskinson began working at WJCT on Valentine’s Day 2011.