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Palm Bay, FL -- Starting March 16, Palm Bay Utilities will temporarily switch its drinking water disinfection from chloramines to free chlorine. The maintenance runs through April 13. The water is safe to drink, cook with, and bathe in. You do not need to boil water or buy bottled water.
Two groups do need to pay attention: kidney dialysis patients and anyone with fish tanks or ponds. More on both below.
What Is Happening and Why
Most of the year, Palm Bay disinfects its drinking water with chloramines, a combination of chlorine and ammonia. About 35 to 40 percent of U.S. municipalities use this method. Chloramines last longer in the distribution system and produce fewer chemical byproducts than chlorine alone.
The tradeoff is that over time, a thin layer of organic material called biofilm builds up on the inside walls of water pipes. Biofilm is essentially a slime layer where bacteria can attach and shelter themselves from the disinfectant. In chloraminated systems, certain bacteria feed on the ammonia in chloramines, breaking it down in a process called nitrification. That weakens the disinfectant, which allows more bacterial growth, which further weakens the disinfectant. Warmer temperatures accelerate the cycle, which is why Florida utilities do this maintenance regularly.
The fix is straightforward. The utility stops adding ammonia for a few weeks and runs free chlorine through the entire system. Free chlorine is a stronger oxidizer. It strips the biofilm from pipe walls and kills the bacteria that have colonized the distribution system. As the city’s press release explains: “This change helps to get rid of the microbial film that can build up in the distribution pipes and prevents bacteria from developing resistance to our standard treatment.”
This is not an emergency response. It is routine, preventive maintenance, comparable to flushing fire hydrants or cleaning water storage tanks.
This Is Standard Practice Across Florida
Palm Bay is not doing anything unusual. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recommends this practice for utilities using chloramines. Palm Bay last conducted free chlorine maintenance in April 2023, at FDEP’s request.
Neighboring utilities that run the same program include the City of Melbourne, the City of Cocoa, the Town of Jupiter, Pinellas County, Port St. Lucie, and Palm Beach County Water Utilities. Some do it twice a year. The EPA estimates that 25 to 40 percent of chloramine utilities nationwide conduct periodic free chlorine conversions. Programs typically run two to four weeks. Palm Bay’s 29-day window falls right in that range.
Your Water Is Safe to Drink
Free chlorine is an EPA-approved drinking water disinfectant. In fact, the majority of U.S. water systems use free chlorine as their primary disinfectant year-round. The CDC confirms both chlorine and chloramine are approved and safe for consumption.
During the maintenance period, your water will meet all federal and state Safe Drinking Water Act standards. It is safe for drinking, cooking, bathing, showering, watering your garden, and all normal household uses. Your dogs and cats can drink it safely too.
You might notice a stronger chlorine taste or smell, more like a swimming pool than usual. That is normal and expected. It does not indicate any health risk.
Practical Tips to Reduce the Chlorine Taste
The taste and smell are the only thing most residents will notice. Here is how to deal with it.
Run your tap for one to two minutes before using water for drinking or cooking, especially first thing in the morning or after the water has been sitting in your pipes for several hours. This flushes the stagnant water and reduces the chlorine concentration at the tap.
Fill an open pitcher and put it in the refrigerator. Chlorine dissipates naturally when exposed to air. After an hour or two, the taste and smell will be minimal or gone entirely.
Drop a lemon slice or a small amount of vitamin C into your drinking water. Both neutralize chlorine naturally and safely.
Standard carbon water filters (the kind in pitcher filters, refrigerator filters, and faucet-mount filters) effectively remove chlorine taste and odor. If you already have one, it will handle this without any changes.
One more thing: do not call Utilities to report a chlorine smell unless it is extreme or accompanied by discolored water. A mild pool-like smell is exactly what you should expect during this window.
Dialysis Patients: Contact Your Provider Before March 16
This is the one group that needs to take the maintenance period seriously. Both chloramine and free chlorine must be removed from water used in kidney dialysis machines. This is actually true year-round, not just during maintenance periods.
The reason: during dialysis, water comes into direct contact with the bloodstream through the dialysis membrane, bypassing the digestive system. Your stomach neutralizes chlorine when you drink water. Dialysis bypasses that protection. Chlorine and chloramine are toxic when introduced directly to blood.
Dialysis centers are already equipped to handle this. The maintenance period does not create a new risk; it changes which specific chemical needs to be filtered. But if you do home dialysis, contact your equipment supplier or physician before March 16 to verify your filtration system handles both free chlorine and chloramine. Follow your provider’s testing protocol throughout the maintenance period and during the transition back to chloramine treatment.
Fish and Aquarium Owners: Treat Your Water
Free chlorine is toxic to fish, invertebrates, and the beneficial bacteria in your aquarium or pond. If you use tap water, you need to treat it before adding it to your tank.
Chloramine is also toxic to aquatic life, so if you are using municipal water, you should already be treating it. The switch to free chlorine may require a different treatment approach. Standard aquarium water conditioners, available at any pet store, remove both chlorine and chloramine. Verify that your conditioner handles both chemicals.
Do not do large water changes without treating the new water first. Be especially careful during the transition periods at the start and end of maintenance, when both chemicals may be present briefly. Pond owners with outdoor fish (koi, goldfish) who top off with tap water should also treat it.
What You Do NOT Need to Do
You do not need to boil your water. You do not need to buy bottled water. You do not need to avoid bathing or showering. You do not need to stop watering your garden. You do not need to make any changes to your daily routine unless you fall into one of the two groups above.
The water is safe. This is maintenance, not a water quality emergency.
Contact Information
Palm Bay Utilities: (321) 952-3420 City website: palmbayfl.gov
For questions about dialysis precautions, contact your healthcare provider or dialysis center directly.
Sources:
City of Palm Bay Utilities press release, March 2026
City of Palm Bay 2023 free chlorine maintenance notice
EPA: Distribution System Water Quality, Nitrification Fact Sheet
Florida Department of Environmental Protection chloramine utility guidance
