You water connoisseurs might be dismayed today, but don’t be alarmed if your Camelback smells like a recently cleaned bathroom. From today until the end of April, D.C. water will be temporarily switching the disinfectant it uses.
For most of the year, D.C. uses chloramine to disinfect its drinking water. This temporary change to chlorine (which is typical for water systems that use chloramine) is part of a program to ensure that the pipes are clean and that we aren’t drinking any nasty stuff.
DC Water recommends that you “flush the cold water tap for two minutes, run the cold water tap for five to 10 minutes when you haven’t used water for a few hours and refrigerate collected water for a few hours before drinking.”
If you’re super devastated by this news, feel free to take a gander at this eHow article on how to remove chlorine from your water. Should be back to normal soon!
Source: DCist