HATE the taste of chlorine in your tap water?

Douglas Shire Council will be installing a new gas-based chlorination system ahead of a planned trial of chlorine-free water for the region. 

Currently DSC residents drink water mixed with one milligram per litre of of solid sodium hypochlorite, which disinfects water just fine but also breaks down and forms byproducts called chlorates, which result in a chemical aftertaste. 

The new system will however uses pure chlorine which is injected into the water in gaseous form, dispersing efficiently and leaving no tastable byproducts. 

The installation of the gas chlorine system will form part of council’s move to eliminate chemicals entirely from the shire’s water supply, with fluoridation at the Mossman and Whyanbeel Water Treatment Plants already stopped by Cairns Regional Council in March last year. 

Council will begin investigating feasibility and community demand for a chlorine-free water supply over the next 12 months. 

Unlike sodium hypochlorite, gaseous chlorine can also be safely stored on-site, meaning it can be used as an emergency backup in a non-chlorinated water supply if an infection is discovered.

Council general operations manager Paul Hoye admitted that the system could not disinfect water already ‘downstream’ from the treatment plant but said gas chlorine would be more effective as an emergency disinfectant than sodium hypochlorite.

“There is no way to remedy contaminants downstream, hence the complexity of any chlorine-free trials,” Mr Hoye said. 

“The advantage of a gas chlorination system over sodium hypochlorite is that it can be introduced to the water supply immediately after an irregularity is detected, whereas it may take several days to reintroduce sodium hypochlorite to the water supply as it cannot be stored safely.”

The gas chlorination system will cost $375,000 under council’s capital works budget.

DSC mayor Julia Leu said taking chlorine out of the water supply entirely would be a step in the right direction for council.

“There are a lot of hurdles to get over before we can consider returning to a chlorine-free water supply, but the introduction of gas chlorination systems and Council’s commitment to review the potential to return to chlorine-free water is very positive,” Mayor Leu said.

“Queensland Health regulations for water consumption have toughened considerably since the Douglas Shire boasted a chlorine-free water supply, but at the very least gas chlorination is a much better option than what we currently have.”

In other water news, council will invest $200,000 in getting the currently disused Mossman water reservoir back on-line. 

The reservoir will add another five hours of to council’s current estimated 37 hours of emergency water supply, and will need new pipework and equipment, in addition to chlorine dosing.