Chlorine
Overview
Chlorine is the most common drinking-water disinfectant. A residual amount is kept in the water by law so germs cannot regrow on the way to your tap.
In Florida, Chlorine was found in 7 community water systems serving about 224,834 people.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at City of Fort Myers in Lee County, at 50% of it.
Where it comes from: Added for disinfection.
The standards
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
Federal MRDLG (40 CFR 141.54).
Health effects the EPA associates with it: Eye and nose irritation, or stomach discomfort.
The health goal is set on health alone. The legal limit is set as close to it as is technically and economically feasible, so treatment cost and available technology are written into the number a utility is measured against. A system at or under the limit is meeting the standard it is required to meet. Both numbers are shown so the distance between them is visible.
What removes it
Any activated carbon filter removes chlorine, which is why carbon is what makes treated water taste like water again. Standard carbon is enough. Chlorine also dissipates on its own if water stands open for a few hours.
Treatment guidance describes the methods generally used for this contaminant. What your own tap actually carries depends on your plumbing and your service line as much as on the utility, which is what a test at the house tells you and an annual report cannot.
Where in Florida
Highest reported levels
Data Sources
These figures describe water as delivered by each utility, not what your home’s plumbing adds after it arrives. Informational; not a substitute for testing your own tap.