Erin Brokovich Announces Trip To Plano Amid Water Safety Talks

PLANO, TX — Although a scheduled chlorine maintenance program used to treat municipal water systems in North Texas ends in five days, a fight for safer drinking water has just begun.

At the forefront of the brigade sits California lawyer-turned-activist, Erin Brokovich, who said she will come to Plano in April to "give the community the truthful answers they deserve."

The discussions began with a post Brokovich shared on her Facebook page claiming the North Texas Municipal Water District's cleaning program created toxic tap water by combining chlorine and ammonia when treating residential water.

The City of Plano announced the treatment program before it began, saying the water would have a stronger smell during the month of March. The water, the city said in a statement to the press, remains safe to drink during the program.

The Water District has reiterated the water's safety numerous times, including in press releases and in an address to Plano's city council. The combination of chlorine and ammonia, the district said, is a common practice used in many hot water systems year-round.

The stronger smell of chlorine, The District said, actually comes from a discontinuation of ammonia. The ammonia helps mask the smell of chlorine, so the odor is more noticeable when its use is discontinued, which is the case during the March chlorine burn.

But many citizens, possibly spurred on by Brokovich's post, disagree. Even to the point of creating the Facebook group titled "Safer Water, North Texas," which already has some 9,200 members.

Many group members have used swimming pool chlorine test kits to sample tap water, and some claim the water's chlorine content sits only a few points below the allowable upper limit and above the chlorine content of most swimming pools. Others, meanwhile, have turned to installing water filtration systems in the home.

Brokovich said she will bring a with her a water treatment expert named Bob to discuss the water quality.

"I am coming to Plano," Brokovich wrote on Facebook. "I am making arrangements today to be there Thursday, April 5th to give the community the truthful answers they deserve. I’ll be bringing my water guy Bob... a 35 year, highest level certified, water treatment operator along with me to put this technical stuff into terms we can all understand. Enough with the BS!"

The treatment program is scheduled to end on March 26.

The district released a six-page document explaining the treatment process from the lake to the tap.

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