Plans to change the way drinking water is disinfected are fueling a serious debate this week. Monday night, those who oppose replacing traditional chlorine with chloramine spoke out.
This water debate has been picking up steam for months. Two meetings this week will help decide if the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority moves forward with chloramine.
Transition Charlottesville Albemarle hosted a public "teach-in" at the Central Library on the risks associated with chloramine use.
New Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations have led the RWSA to choose chloramine over traditional chlorine to disinfect our water, to cut down on potentially harmful by-products. But those in opposition say chloramine has its own serious risks, and want more public discussion before the change takes place in 2014.
Lorrie Delehanty with Transition Charlottesville Albemarle said, "We realize that chloramine does have some advantages, but we feel that the disadvantages outweigh it, and we want to really talk about more in depth about some of the problematic aspects of it."
Participants had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the change at Monday night's meeting, but the big panel discussion is still days away. It will be held Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. at the Albemarle County Office Building.
A panel of eight experts on different sides of the chloramine issue will openly discuss and debate the pros and cons. RWSA says it plans to use the results of Thursday's meeting to inform its ultimate decision.
