City water supply provider “Rīgas Ūdens” (“Riga Water”) is implementing municipal drinking water purification this week. Chlorine odor might be present in tap water — which is totally safe, the company states.
Water purification and supply system disinfection city-wide is done by the process of adding chlorine to water, known as Water chlorination. This method is used to kill certain bacteria and other microbes in tap water as chlorine is highly toxic.
Chlorine is by far the most commonly used drinking water disinfectant in all regions of the world. In 1902, Belgium was the first country to use chlorine to clean or treat water in a public water supply.
As Rīgas Ūdens notes, drinking chlorine-treated water is totally safe for your consumption and health.
Allowable chlorine levels in drinking water are up to 5 mg/L. During the purification, Riga tap water will see chlorine level raise to 0.5 mg/L, while the usual maximum amount is 0.2 mg/L.
As to the chlorine odor, until it’s gone by the end of the week — you can easily destroy it just by boiling the water.
Stay clean and live healthy!
“Rīgas Ūdens” is the largest water supply and sewer system service provider in Latvia. It provides Rīga’s inhabitants with a crucial and necessary product – quality drinking water, while also collecting, distributing and purifying wastewater.
