Starting March 1, Johnston County’s water-treatment plant will temporarily stop feeding ammonia with chlorine for disinfection and start feeding chlorine only.

The switch is for all customers on the Johnston West water-distribution system. Johnston West supplies water to many homes and businesses, including those in Clayton and Wilson’s Mills. It also serves some customers of private utilities, including Aqua NC and Utilities Inc.

County customers can find their distribution system on their monthly billing statement.

State and federal rules require all public water systems to feed chlorine only for at least three weeks each year to insure no bacteria are present that might have adapted to the ammonia in the water.

Johnston West customers who use kidney dialysis machines should be aware that the water will contain more chlorine before returning to a chlorine and ammonia mixture on or about April 2. Also, the chlorine-only water can be toxic to tropical fish.

Most customers will not notice a difference in their water, but some might detect a chlorine odor and see a slight color change.

On a related matter, the county will flush the Johnston West water distribution system during this period to speed the removal of chloramines from the system. The flushing process might result in some minor and temporary discoloration of water, but it will  not affect water quality, the county said.

For more informtion, call  Johnston County Public Utilities at 919-989-5075.

Smithfield too

Like its county counterpart, Smithfield’s water-treatment plant will also use chlorine only from March 1 to April 2.

Customers who notice a change in water odor or color should flush their water lines thoroughly, the town said in a news release. But even without doing so, the water will be safe to drink, the town said.

For more information, call 919-934-2661.