Chloramine in tap water

What chloramine is

Water agencies add a disinfectant so water stays clean from the plant to your tap. Many use chlorine. Some use chloramine, which is chlorine combined with ammonia. EPA says utilities have used it since the 1930s because it gives longer-lasting disinfection in the pipes.

This page is about taste, smell and filters. EPA says water with chloramine that meets its standards is safe to use for drinking, cooking and bathing, and nothing here says otherwise.

Which agencies near Nuvia use it

Your agency's annual water quality report is the source, and these are the ones we have read.

• Corona. The City of Corona's report says it adds an ammonium hydroxide solution to the disinfected water, which together with sodium hypochlorite forms chloramines.
• Irvine Ranch Water District says in its report that it uses chloramines.
• Santa Margarita Water District says imported and locally produced water is treated with chloramines.
• Metropolitan Water District, the wholesale supplier to much of Southern California, lists chloramines as a total chlorine residual in its report.
• Moulton Niguel, El Toro and San Clemente state chloramine in their reports. South Coast reports both chlorine and chloramine.
• Riverside and San Bernardino. Their reports name chlorine as the disinfectant.
• Anaheim and Yorba Linda. Their reports list a chlorine residual without naming chloramine. That does not settle which disinfectant they use. Ask the agency.

Supplies are often blended, so the water at your address can differ from the headline for your city. The city pages link each agency's report.

Why catalytic carbon matters

Chlorine comes out of water quickly when it meets carbon. Chloramine is built to last, so it takes longer to break down. Taking it out needs a carbon made for the job, called catalytic carbon, and enough time in contact with the water. A basic carbon filter sized for chlorine can leave much of the chloramine in the water.

If you are choosing a filter for a chloramine supply, ask three things in writing: what kind of carbon is in it, whether the maker lists chloramine reduction for that exact model, and what the contact time or flow rating is. Check any certification in the certifier's own database for the model number.

What Nuvia lists

This is how Nuvia's live product pages describe the systems. Nuvia's Carbon CRS and Advantage product pages do not name the carbon type, so this page does not state one.

• Nuvia Carbon CRS. A three-stage whole-house system: sediment, a carbon stage called NW-C12 Refiner, and a final clarification stage, with a programmed backwash cycle and no salt. The page lists chlorine, chloramine, taste and odor reduction.
• Nuvia Advantage. Five stages, with a carbon stage and a scale stage, and the same backwash cycle and no salt. The page lists chlorine and chloramine reduction.
• Nuvia Sentry. A wall-mounted unit with a coconut shell carbon block as its third stage. Its page lists chlorine, taste and odor, and it does not list chloramine.

What this does not do

• A filter does not soften water. Carbon does not remove hardness. For spots and scale see water softeners and conditioners.
• A whole-house filter is not a drinking-water system. For the water you drink and cook with, see reverse osmosis drinking water.
• It does not last forever. Carbon wears out. The replacement schedule depends on the system and on your water, so get it in writing.
• It is not a health product. These systems are sold for taste and odor.

Start with the free water analysis

The free water analysis is done at your tap. It checks chlorine, hardness and total dissolved solids, and it is not a health screening. You see your numbers, then you hear which system fits your water and your address.