Is San Francisco Water Chlorinated?
Yes, San Francisco water is chlorinated. And there’s a quick way to tell:
- If byproducts of chlorination are present in the water supply, then chlorine and other disinfectants were used.
San Francisco’s water has two common byproducts of chlorination:
- Haloacetic acids*
- Total trihalomethanes*
We know they are there from conducting a water quality assessment you can access here:
*Note: Both of these chemical contaminants can increase risks of cancer.
Why is San Francisco Water Chlorinated?
Using chlorine to disinfect water supplies is common across the United States.
It’s an inexpensive and effective way to kill microbes in large volumes of water.
The downside is that chlorination has negative side effects in humans and animals.
Can You Remove These Byproducts of Chlorination?
Yes, you can. Water filters with activated carbon can reduce the levels of these chemicals by 98 – 99.8%.
In addition, quality carbon filters will also remove other harmful chemicals.
For example, San Francisco residents can remove these with a Berkey filter:
- Aluminum – 99%
- Chromium – 99.8%
- Fluoride – Berkey removes (with additional fluoride filters) up to 97%
- Haloacetic acids – greater than 98%
- Strontium – 95.3%
- Total trihalomethanes – greater than 99.8%
- Vanadium – greater than 87.5%
Learn more about Berkey filters here: Water Filters
Want to Learn More About California Water Quality?
You can access all other California cities with populations over 50,000 here.
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