With Emporia’s chlorine burnout process nearing the end, city officials are pleased with the results to this point. They are also pleased the city continues to get recognized for the high quality of its drinking water.
In late August, the city’s tap water was honored by the Kansas Water Environment Association and Kansas Section of the American Water Works Association as having the state’s best-tasting water. The honor was officially delivered during the Emporia City Commission meeting Wednesday.
Water Treatment Plant Manager Jack Mason felt the city could win an award, and he credited Public Works Director Dean Grant for giving him the authority to adjust certain things as he came on board earlier this year. He also credited department staff.
Mason says the Water Treatment Plant staff is “100 percent responsible” for the award. Mason says he asked staffers to “work outside the box,” and they responded well.
The city gets water from the Neosho River, not from nearby wells like other award winners. Mason says the city does an “immense process” to treat the water, starting with a pre-sedimentation treatment. The city also uses ozone to disinfect the water and remove any less-than-ideal taste. Mason says every city and town needs unique chemical combinations to provide safe, good-tasting water for their residents, and Emporia continues tweaking its chemicals towards that end.
This follows top honors in 2012 and 2007. Emporia has fared well in other contests, winning the Kansas Rural Water Association’s contest numerous times the past 20 years and the Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, contest for best-tasting water in the world in 2013 and 2017.
Emporia will represent Kansas at the National Water Works contest next year.
The chlorine burnout process, meanwhile, is set to end next week. This is the second straight year where the city has done a chlorine burnout, converting from chloramine to free chlorine for a month, as opposed to shorter but more frequent disinfectant changeovers.
