Chlorination of Brainerd water to continue for time being - Brainerd Dispatch

Chlorination of Brainerd water to continue for time being - Brainerd Dispatch | News, weather, sports from Brainerd and Baxter

Chlorination of Brainerd water to continue for time being

The Minnesota Department of Health has mandated the city continue to chlorinate its water until further notice because of the close time proximity to when the water boil advisory expired.

BRAINERD — While Brainerd’s water boil advisory has been lifted, the chlorination of the city’s water system will continue as state and Brainerd Public Utilities officials weigh options.

The boil water advisory for Brainerd residents went into effect Thursday, Aug. 10, after total coliform bacteria was identified in the city’s water, possibly linked to a construction project on July 27. The water boil advisory was lifted Wednesday afternoon.

Brainerd Public Utilities Director Todd Wicklund said Thursday, Aug. 17, the Minnesota Department of Health has mandated the city continue to chlorinate its water until further notice because of the close time proximity to when the water boil advisory expired.

Wicklund also said the Brainerd Public Utilities Commission will discuss chlorinating the city’s water supply on a regular basis at its Aug. 29 meeting.

“Do we make it a permanent thing or what at that time?” Wicklund said. “As of right now, yeah, it's still going to be chlorinated until we hear further guidance from the state or the commission votes on something here at the end of the month.”

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Brainerd has the largest unchlorinated drinking water system in the state.

In 2009 the Brainerd Public Utilities Commission approved flushing chlorine into Brainerd’s water system twice a year after total coliform bacteria was found in the city’s water and residents. Wicklund said he doesn’t believe BPU maintained that practice, however.

“Because of the logistics of doing that, there's a lot of time and effort to do it just twice a year,” Wicklund said. “So either you don't do it at all until you have a crisis or you’re just having the whole system being chlorinated 100% of the time.”

In 2014, Brainerd public Utilities discussed the possibility of permanently chlorinating the city’s water supply but made no decision. That discussion came after bacteria was found in the city’s water supply after a drop in water pressure from a broken water line near Kiwanis Park prevented the water tower at the site of the former Brainerd State Hospital from filling overnight. At that time the city was required to chlorinate for a minimum of 30 days, per an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Health.

Wicklund said pending further guidance from the Department of Health, Brainerd Public Utilities will continue sending samples to the state for direction on finding the right balance on chlorination levels.

“So that's driven by the chemistry of the water and there’s lots of testing going on as we speak to get to the sweet spot,” Wicklund said.

Wicklund said Brainerd Public Utilities will be posting a questionnaire on its website and social media to get feedback from Brainerd residents on whether to chlorinate the city’s water on a full-time basis. He also said there will need to be some things Brainerd water customers need to do to flush the chlorine from their household systems.

“Everybody will probably most likely have to do something,” Wicklund said. “Chlorine kind of loosens up stuff, old stuff that may have been stuck to the inside of water pipes.”

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When a water boil advisory is lifted, the Minnesota Department of Health recommends:

- Flushing household pipes and faucets. Run each cold-water faucet for five minutes or until the water is noticeably colder.
- Throwing away any existing ice. If you have an icemaker, flush the feed lines and throw away the first new bin of ice.
- Flushing water heaters, water coolers, and any other water storage container. Flush with at least one full tank volume.
- Cleaning water softeners and filters following the manufacturer’s instructions. Replace disposable filters.

MATT ERICKSON, Editor, may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5857.

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