Red Bank residents and businesses may smell chlorine in water from their taps starting next week.

There’s no need for alarm, the borough government said in an announcement Tuesday.

The borough-owned water utility, which distributes water from New Jersey American Water Company for about six months each year, reposted the following notice from NJAW on the town’s website:

As part of an annual maintenance program NJ American Water will temporarily change the water treatment process from a chloramine (combination) residual to free chlorine residual at the company’s Swimming River Water Treatment Plant in Colts Neck and its Jumping Brook Water Treatment Plant in Neptune. This change will affect Red Bank customers; however it is not a cause for concern and is a normal part of the treatment process.

The temporary treatment process will begin the week of February 6, 2023, and continue until April 2023. During this period, some customers may notice a slight taste and smell of chlorine in their water. This is normal and will only be temporary until the system maintenance is complete. Customers who wish to reduce the taste of chlorine can place water in an uncovered glass container in the refrigerator overnight to dissipate chlorine faster.

Under a longstanding arrangement ordered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Red Bank’s water utility gets half its product from its own wells on Chestnut Street and Tower Hill, and other half from NJAW. The borough can choose when to buy from NJAW, and traditionally does so from November through April, when the demand on the private utility is lower.

(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

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