You may have previously heard of dechlorination tablets and wondered: what are dechlorination tablets?
Dechlorination tablets are a convenient source of sodium sulfate that is used to remove chlorine or chloramines from potable water, wastewater, and process water.
The next obvious question you may be pondering is:
What Is the Purpose of Dechlorination?
Chlorine toxicity levels aren’t always clear or even understood by humans. Most people consider chlorine pretty harmless — at least, for the most part. After all, we swim in large amounts of it and even consume it from time to time. But let’s put it into perspective. When it comes to certain aquatic life, like rainbow trout, for example, 0.2 mg/L of chlorine can be lethal. Not to mention other animals that live in the ocean or other bodies of water.
When swimming pool water makes its way into storm drains, it potentially has the ability to pollute a body of water that is ten to 100 times the traditional amount of 2 ppm (mg/L) that you would typically find in a pool. Therefore, clearing the water of chlorine is essential to protecting wildlife. And it becomes essential to remove chlorine from the water. Environmentally, it is the responsible thing to do.
Know When To Chlorinate Water
It’s important to know when to remove chlorine from water and how to do it. The best method for removing chlorine from water is through dechlorination tablets. These tablets should be used in the event that running tap water is discharged into storm drains or near any body of water including ponds, the ocean, rivers, lakes, or groundwater. Sulfur dioxide is the most common component used for dechlorination. Tablets are made up of approximately 35% sulfur dioxide.
Chlorine tablets will typically be used in the following situations:
- When hydrants are flushed
- Draining swimming pools
- New main installations, maintenance, and repairs
- In the event of dewatering
- When backwashing filters of a pool
- When testing fire flow
- When draining municipal park pools
- Overflowing reservoirs
- When cleaning a reservoir, well, or water tank
- In emergency situations
- Permit Compliance
- When releasing wastewater
- Highly chlorinated water released to the wastewater treatment plant
How Do You Administer Chlorine Tablets
Chlorine tablets work best when they are used with a tablet feeder.
How do chlorine tablets work?
Chlorine tablets work by reducing the effects of toxic disinfection byproducts. It achieves this by removing the chlorine residual that is still present after dechlorination. Sulfur dioxide is added in order to dechlorinate the water.