In a continuing effort to provide clean, safe drinking water, Union County Water conducts an Annual Preventive Maintenance Program. While we typically use chloramines - by combining both chlorine and ammonia - to disinfect our water system, we stop using ammonia throughout the month of March each year. For that brief timeframe, we only use chlorine as a disinfectant. After that brief period, we switch back to the use of ammonia and the use of chloramines. 

Recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, this annual maintenance is performed strategically at the time of year when water usage is low, in order to limit the stress on our water system. Residents may see crews flushing hydrants to ensure chlorinated water is dispersed throughout the entire water system. 

This page contains helpful information about why we practice preventive maintenance on our water system, answers to customers' frequently asked questions, and a reminder for a limited group of customers who may be affected during this temporary period. For more information, please see our frequently asked questions or contact Customer Service. 

Special Considerations

There are three groups of customers that should take special precautions in March of each year:  

• kidney dialysis providers/patients, 
• fish, pond, pool and aquarium owners/operators, and 
• some businesses that use water in their production process. 

The customers listed above are advised to seek professional advice for appropriate steps to accommodate this temporary change in water disinfection. If you or someone in your household is on dialysis, please consult your treatment provider for advice.  

Customer Notifications

Union County Water reminds customers of this annual program through various communication methods:

• a printed notice in our February billing statements;
• email notification to customers who have an email address listed on their account (if you did not receive an email from us, please Contact Customer Care to provide us with your email address for future notifications about your water service);
• hand-delivered notice to dialysis centers and other customers as noted above;
• website notices, including our FAQ page.