Aquarium/pond owners need to be aware of water additive
City Administrator Jeff Benbrook has received a number of calls at the city office requesting clarification of a plan by the staff at the Hillsboro Water Plant to add combined chlorine (chloramines) to the Peabody water supply.
Referring to a recently published report of a Hillsboro City Council meeting, Benbrook said information about the additional treatment included a caution about people using water in aquariums and ponds.
Morgan Marler, senior water technician for the Hillsboro facility said this week that her staff has not yet started adding the chloramines to Peabody's water.
Marler said the process won't start for another month and that an announcement will be published in the newspaper for two weeks prior to the injection of the chemicals.
According to Marler the water can still be used for aquariums and ponds, but the usual additive people use to neutralize chlorine in tap water may not be adequate protection for aquatic life after the addition of chloramines.
Marler said aquarium and pond owners should check the label on the product they currently use to be sure it is satisfactory.
If it is not capable of neutralizing the combined chlorine, Marler said other products are widely available at pet supply stores.
