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Marceline, MO - 
On Monday, May 12, 2025, the City of Marceline in conjunction with the City of 
Brookfield and Public Water Supply District Number 3 will be making its ANNUAL 
CHANGE FROM CHLORAMINES TO CHLORINE. 
  
Every year, the Cities of Marceline, Brookfield and Public Water Supply District 
Number 3 (PWSD # 3) implement an annual flushing program. Public Utilities 
employees will flush the water mains by opening fire hydrants and allowing them 
to flow freely for a short period of time. The flushing cleans out sediment and 
allows routine maintenance of the fire hydrants. Flushing may result in some 
discoloration and the presence of sediment in your water. These conditions are 
not harmful and should be of short duration. 
  
 During 
this period of time, a slight change is made in the water treatment process to 
facilitate an effective flushing program. Throughout the year, chloramines, or 
combined chlorine, are added to the water as the primary disinfectant. During 
the flushing program, chlorine is added in an uncombined state, commonly 
referred to as free chlorine. Free chlorine is somewhat more volatile than 
combined chlorine, providing exceptional availability to react with sediments 
suspended during flushing. The Cities of Marceline and Brookfield will use free 
chlorine as the primary disinfectant from May 12 - June 12, 2025. Depending on 
your location within the distribution system and usage patterns, it could take 
up to a week for your drinking water to transition from combined chlorine to 
free chlorine at the beginning of the flushing program. The annual change from 
chloramines to chlorine for this brief period is required by the Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources. 
  
You may notice a chlorine taste and odor in your drinking water while free 
chlorine is utilized. If you are especially sensitive to the taste and odor of 
chlorine, try keeping an open container of drinking water in your refrigerator. 
This will enable the chlorine to dissipate thus reducing the chlorine taste. 
Remember - drinking water has a shelf life! Change out the water in your 
refrigerated container weekly. 
  
Please note, if you have an aquarium or pond always test the water you add to 
your aquatic environment to be sure it is free of any chlorine before adding 
fish or other animals. Chemical additives with directions for removing either 
free chlorine or chloramines from water for use in fish tanks or ponds are 
available at pet/fish supply stores. 
  
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this process, please contact the 
Marceline Water Department at (660) 376-0700, or the Brookfield Water Department 
at (660) 258-7442, or your local water provider. 
   
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