Chlorine Smell Should Disappear From Water Soon

After Swift Current residents have had to deal with a foul chlorine smell in their tap water over the last week, the problem may soon be over.

The smell was caused by high ammonia levels in the raw water mixing in with the treatment plant chemicals, and Engineering Services Manager Trevor Feicht says those levels have been going down.

“The numbers indicate there down as they indicated coming both with the chlorine levels going out so that's good news, as that ice continues to melt on our city dam that feeds the plant we'll see things continue to improve.”

Feicht added despite the strong smell, the chlorine levels in the water were still below regulatory standards,

“Your Canadian drinking water standards max out at 5 grams per litre on the chlorine, we've been well below that. They're a bit above average of course but well below Canadian drinking water standards.”

Mayor Jerrod Schafer said despite the smell, he's thankful that water is still safe to drink.

“In the spring we have to deal with that odour but the water is safe and I think most residents would take that over boil water advisories or things like E Coli that are far more damaging.”

The odour was caused by increased ammonia levels in the raw water coming into the plant, and those levels have been decreasing.