Chlorine added to Winfield water

As one step to keeping Winfield water safe, the city water department began treating the water with free chlorine on Monday. The temporary treatment should last six or seven weeks, water plant supervisor Dan Defore said.

Usually, the city uses a chloramine, a combination of chloride and ammonia sulfate, to purify the water. Over time the ammonia in the mixture deposits a film on the water lines. The process of getting rid of the film — denitrification — is undertaken in July and August, once the temperature in the water at Winfield City Lake rises. Right now the water is 75°F, according to Josh Rice, Water Plant Operator 2. The lake is the source of water for most of Cowley County, according to the water department’s website.