Temple officials are reminding resident that they may notice a slight change in the taste and smell of their drinking water during the month of February.
The water department is temporarily converting chloramine to free chlorine in order to clean the city's public water system, but Temple Public Relations Manger Laurie Simmons said that the water remains safe to consume.
According to the EH Project, the presence of free chlorine indicates that a sufficient amount of chlorine was added to the water to inactivate most of the bacteria and viruses that cause diarrheal disease.
They said that water is protected from recontamination during transport to the home, and during storage of water in the household. Because the presence of free residual chlorine in drinking water indicates the likely absence of disease-causing organisms, it is used as one measure of the potability of drinking water.
"It's safe to drink. It's really just about maintaining long term water quality," Simmons said.
The city made the announcement on it's Facebook page last week and said that temporary conversion is a sign of the city's proactive approach to making sure the drinking water is safely disinfected.
"We are required by the state of Texas to use a disinfectant in our public water system," Simmons said.
Temple water officials said that converting to free chlorine helps get rid of any organic matter that has built up overtime.
But for long time residents like Zachary Schwaller, drinking water from the tap isn't worth the risk.
"I've lived here since, like, 7th grade and it's always had a smell," Schwaller said.
Schwaller said that as a father of four, he prefers to buy purified water at the grocery store because it gives him peace of mind.
"This is filtered so you know it's clean," Schwaller said.
But for those who rely on public drinking water, the city maintains the water remains safe to consume and use.
The city's temporary conversion of the chemical will end on Feb. 28 - at which point residents should see their water return to looking and tasting normal.
